Pelosi says there is not 'much likelihood' Dems will lose House

The top House Democrat on Monday downplayed the notion that the party is in serious danger of losing its majority in the House of Representatives.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that recent buzz surrounding the acknowledgment from both parties that the GOP could retake the House is likely part of Democratic messaging efforts.

"I don't think there's much likelihood [of Democrats losing the House], but anytime the White House wants to lower expectations, that's OK with me," she said at an event in her home city of San Francisco.

Pelosi responded to a question about White House press secretary Robert Gibbs's comment this weekend that there is "no doubt" Republicans could take back the House and maybe even the Senate.

Observers said Gibbs's admission is what Democrats have been saying behind closed doors and could be a method of managing expectations for the fall midterms.

Gibbs's remarks sparked House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) Monday to predict that his party would take control of the lower chamber.

But Pelosi echoed one of her top deputies, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.), who said Monday that Gibbs's comment was part of the Democrats' messaging this fall, which is to warn voters that the country would be in worse shape with a Republican House.

"The anticipation is that there would be some losses, but we have absolutely no intention of losing the House," she said. "We have a case to make to the American people about why we must go and continue to go in a new direction."

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