House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would step down from her party leadership role but will continue to represent San Francisco in Congress.
Her announcement came on Thursday in the wake of Democrats narrowly losing control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections.
“I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi said. “For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I deeply respect.”
Pelosi will serve as speaker until January, when a new Congress takes over, and will remain in the seat she first took in 1987 until January 2025.
Republican Kevin McCarthy has won the party’s nomination to be the speaker in the new Congress and is likely to succeed Pelosi.
Speaker of the House is the one congressional job detailed in the US Constitution. After the vice president, it’s the next in line to the presidency.
The speaker and their deputies and committee chairs determine what bills are considered and voted on. They set the agenda and decide the rules governing debate.
Pelosi became minority leader, the title held by the person leading the opposition in the House, in 2003. The Democrats then took control of the House for the first time in more than a decade in 2006, and she became the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress.
She became the minority leader again for four years but returned to the speaker’s chair in 2018. Pelosi became the first woman to lead a majority party in either chamber of the US Congress.
As a speaker, Pelosi played a critical role in advancing the agendas of multiple presidents.
While former President Barack Obama was in office, Pelosi was widely credited with marshaling the passage of his signature healthcare legislation.
She also directly challenged Donald Trump throughout his presidency, famously ripping up a copy of his State of the Union address behind his back.
As the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi will also go down in history as one of the most effective – and invaluable assets for Democrats and a formidable opponent for Republicans.
