She famously voted against Nancy Pelosi for Democratic Leader in 2011, but former Rep. Gabby Giffords wants Democrats to choose her as speaker in January.
The former Arizona legislator, who left Congress after a near-fatal shooting, is now dedicated to her nonprofit group aimed at ending gun violence.
She said in a statement that Pelosi, of California, sat at her bedside while she was hospitalized with a head wound, just days after Giffords voted against her.
“As a leader, Nancy Pelosi has the courage to rise to any challenge and the fortitude to take on the toughest fights,” Giffords said in a statement Friday. “As Speaker, she had the grit and skill to touch the lives of millions through the passage of landmark legislation. As a friend, she came, in my darkest days, to my hospital bed. As an advocate for gun violence prevention, she has no equal. I was honored to serve alongside her and look forward to calling her Madam Speaker.”
Giffords is seeking new gun control measures including a ban on certain weapons and ammunition and an expansion of background checks, all changes backed by Pelosi.
Giffords was among 19 Democrats who voted against Pelosi in 2011 in the House floor vote for speaker. Republicans were in the majority and elected Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, but the defections against Pelosi from fellow Democrats showed many lawmakers harbored a lack of confidence in her leadership after the party lost dozens of seats in the 2010 midterm elections.
