Delving into the article, my initial suspicions proved to have merit... this decision was less about precedent, and more about denying a vote for a challenger to Pelosi's pick on some committee or other.
And I LOVE the idea of offering her a vote in the Republican caucus. Just think of the press release:
"Republicans honor family and value the input of women in our caucus. Democrats have denied representation to this pregnant disabled war veteran, and we believe that is just plain wrong. We'd like to offer our friend, Congresswoman Duckworth..."
It would be HILARIOUS.
Yup. That's how it's done.
Unfortunately, the republicans never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.