WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Emeritus nancy pelosi She will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, not only ending her storied career; first woman He is in the chairman’s office and is arguably the most powerful person in American politics.
Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, announced her decision Thursday.
“I am not seeking re-election to Congress,” Pelosi said in a video address to voters.
As images of her decades of accomplishments filled the screen, Pelosi appeared upbeat and positive as she said she would end her final year in office. And she left a call to action for those who sent her to Congress to continue the tradition of agenda-setting both in the United States and around the world.
“My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” she said. “We’ve made history and we’ve made progress. We’ve always led the way.”
“And now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear,” Pelosi said.
March 13, 2020: California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives at the Capitol in Washington to speak on the House coronavirus bill. (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite, File)
Although not entirely unexpected, the decision reverberated in Washington and California as a generation of experienced political leaders stepped down ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Some retire reluctantly, others with determination, but many face challenges from newcomers aspiring to lead. Democratic Party and confront President Donald Trump.
Pelosi remained a political powerhouse and played an important role. California redistricting effortsProposition 50, and the party’s resurgence in this month’s elections. Although she maintains a solid schedule of public events and party fundraisers, her announced resignation has ignited a succession battle in her home country and leaves unanswered questions about who will take on the behind-the-scenes leadership role on Capitol Hill.
Pelosi, 85, the author of the Affordable Care Act and a leader on the international stage, entered politics late in life and is the mother of five nearly adult children. She has long fended off calls to leave by turning questions about her intentions into fierce retorts about whether the same questions are being asked of her male colleagues on Capitol Hill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California reacts while listening to questions from reporters during her weekly press conference at the Capitol on Thursday, September 30, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik File)
In a video speech, she said her first campaign slogan was “Voices to be heard.”
With that backing, she became a speaker whose “voice will definitely be heard,” she said.
But after Pelosi secretly supported Joe Biden’s scheme; Withdrawal from the 2024 presidential electionshe also decided to pass the torch.
Last year she experienced a fall and hip fracture It was a whirlwind parliamentary tour of her European allies, but still a show of mettle. After taking a group photo of her smiling while wearing her trademark stiletto heels, it was revealed that she was rushed to a military hospital for surgery.
Pelosi’s decision was made by her husband of more than 60 years, Paul Pelosi. seriously injured Three years ago, when an intruder asked, “Where’s Nancy?” He broke into the couple’s home and hit them over the head with a hammer. He is still recovering from the attack just days before the 2022 midterm elections.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Pelosi faces a potential primary challenge in California. Saikat Chakrabarti, the left-wing newcomer who helped engineer the political rise of progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, is campaigning, and state Sen. Scott Wiener is also reportedly considering a run.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends Emily’s List 2008 Convention Gala at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 26, 2008 (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Pelosi has raised more than $1 billion during her career and remains an unparalleled force for Democrats, but her next steps are unclear. She was first elected in 1987 after a career in California party politics and has held public office for nearly 40 years.
Madam Speaker takes the gavel
Pelosi’s Achievements as Speaker of the House of Representatives Not only because she was the first woman to hold the job, but also because of what she did with the gavel as she seized the enormous power that comes with a series of offices overlooking the National Mall.
During her first term, from 2007 to 2011, she steered the House toward passage of landmark legislation such as the Affordable Care Act and the post-Dodd-Frank financial reform. great recession and an end to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward LGBTQ service members.
and president barack obama With White House and Democratic Sen. Harry Reid (Nevada) leading the Senate, the 2009-2010 Congress ended in the most productive session since the Johnson administration.
But conservative Republicans “Tea party” The insurrection would knock Democrats out of power, usher in a new style of Republican Party, and pave the way for the Trump administration. occupy the white house In 2016.
Determined to take back power, Pelosi recruited and helped propel dozens of women to power. 2018 midterm elections As a Democrat running as a resistance force in President Trump’s first term.
During the election campaign that year, Pelosi told The Associated Press. If House Democrats win, she will demonstrate “the power of the gavel.”
Pelosi returns to the Speaker’s office to keep Trump in check
Pelosi is the first speaker to return to office in nearly 50 years, and her second term, from 2019 to 2023, could have had a greater impact than her first, especially as a Democratic antidote to Trump.
President Donald Trump looks over at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence looks on, February 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik File)
Trump has been impeached twice by the House of Representatives, first in 2019 on charges of: Withhold US aid to Ukraine When faced with a hostile Russia on the border, and a few days later in 2021. January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol. The Senate acquitted him in both cases.
On January 6, Pelosi established a special committee to investigate President Trump’s role in the deployment. group of his supporters Coming to the Capitol when most Republicans refused to investigate; 1,000 page report This was the first complete look at what happened when a defeated president tried to stay in office.
After Democrats lost the House majority in the 2022 midterm elections, Pelosi announced she would not seek reelection as party leader.
Rather than retire, she charted a new course as a leader, assuming an honorary title that was later used by others during her brief tenure, including Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California. kicked out by his colleagues From the Chairman’s Office in 2023.
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