Jockeying for position in the House

>>> we just talked about the emerging leaders in the state, so it's fair we return to the house where an interesting scenario is developing. nancy pelosi is 72 years old, and she spent the last two years insisting her party would win back the house in 2012 to make her speaker again. democrats didn't come close on tuesday, so now the speculation has begun. will she step aside , and if so who will replace her? steny hoyer ? will he get his chance, or like she did two years ago where pelosi decides i'm sticking around? joining us to fill us in on all the developments in the house is nbc's luke russert . luke , there is the story of nancy pelosi and steny hoyer goes back 50 years. on another day when we have more time, i want to get into it.

>> both interns in that senate maryland office.

>> senator brewster. the question in the immediate term is this. if she were to step aside right now, the only guy who has the votes to replace here is tenney hoyer. she's stoking speculation she might leave, but what is the scuttle but there? is she still the deck tim leader when this is over?

>> in preparation for this segment i made calls to folks about what she thought would help behind the scenes . a small group thinks pelosi could stay, and she enjoys the fund-raising aspect and being part of the conversation. if she wants to stay, it's all hers. if she goes, there's speculation she can appoint her own successor, perhaps somebody who is more appealing to the liberals within her caucus. the caucus is more liberal in the last election to supersede steny hoyer . from conversations i've had recently folks asay steny hoyer because of his personal relationships in congress over the decades he's been there would be able to be leader if pelosi would step away. there's a strong feeling that she could not designate somebody else or would she to jump over him. all that being said, though, you don't know about these things especially amongst democrats because there's so much jockeying for positions in thele meeting happened behind closed doors .

>> steny hoyer and nancy pelosi are up there in the age a bit. who are the up and coming potential future leaders of the democratic party in the house ?

>> it's interesting. you have debbie wasserman wasserman-schultz and also in that group joe crowley , the new york, is somebody that is looked at. jared po li s of colorado and xavier. there's joe kennedy iii in massachusetts and tammy duckworth who was just elected from the younger set look at age differential, joe kennedy iii only in his early 30s. a lot hope he's a force because of the fund-raising apparatus he could have amongst house democrats.

>> let's go to republicans, luke . talk about the young guns over there. they were often at odds with speaker boehner over the past four years. what do you think of their influence going forward?

>> i think that their influence going forward pertains to the sif war within the gop . there's a decision they have to be more conservative or moderate? the same leaders go forward. eric cantor has not had nearly the preference that he had at the beginning of the 112th congress since the debt limit deal. it took a lot out of him. his advisers pull him back. if there's a huge legislative grand bargain that is upsetting to conservatives, could that mean that john boehner would be done being speaker by 2014 ? there's certainly a chance, given the amount of time that the party faithful and the grassroots could assemble around somebody else. right now it looks like the status quo within the house gop conference unless kathy mcmorris rogers will become the chairman as that has opened up. everything you ever wanted to know about house gop politics, s.e.

>> good stuff, luke .

>> the funniest thing is boehner doesn't have anything to worry about because who would want to be the speaker right now? the republicans are so hard to read at this point. thank you for joining us. straight ahead, the reason we play all the police music, the guitarist of one of the greatest rock bands of all time and a rejd in his right, andy summers , giving up my seat for him. he's coming up