Marcia Fudge Bows Out Of House Speaker Race, Endorses Nancy Pelosi

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) announced Tuesday that she no longer plans to challenge Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the role of speaker of the House.

In a statement released to the media, Fudge said she has become satisfied with Pelosi’s assurances that the “protections of the Votings Rights Act will be reinstated and improved.” Fudge added that she is confident the House will be successful under Pelosi’s leadership.

Fudge’s announcement marks a surprising turn of events, given the strong language she used to criticize Pelosi’s leadership last week, calling her out for appearing as an elitist in the party and not advocating vocally enough for African-Americans in Congress.

“What is wrong with acknowledging the fact that the Democratic Party is becoming more young, more black, and more brown?” Fudge said. “And letting that be reflected in our leadership.”

An opening for Fudge appeared last week when 16 Democrats signed a letter vowing to oppose Pelosi.

Fudge told HuffPost she was “overwhelmed” by the number of people reaching out to support her speaker bid, even without officially throwing her hat in the ring.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.