- Sam Cabral
- BBC-Washington
Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will step down from the Democratic leadership in the House, a position she has held for nearly two decades.
The 82-year-old woman is the most powerful Democratic member of Congress and is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Pelosi will continue to represent her California district in the House of Representatives.
The move comes as Republicans have regained control of the House in the wake of midterm elections.
Republican Kevin McCarthy won his party’s nomination for Speaker of the House in the new Congress, and is likely to succeed Pelosi.
Pelosi said in a statement, “I never imagined I would go from being a housewife to being the Speaker of the House. I will not seek re-election as a Democratic leader in the next Congress. It’s time for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus.”
Pelosi will continue to preside over the House of Representatives until next January, when the new Congress meets, and will remain in her seat, which she has won since 1987, until January 2025.
New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is widely expected to take the top Democratic leadership position in the House of Representatives, making him the first black leader in Congress in US history.
Speaker of the House of Representatives is the only congressional position detailed in the US Constitution. After vice president, this position comes in the order of the presidency, in an emergency.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, their deputies and the chairmen of the committees determine which bills are considered and voted on. They set the agenda and decide the rules governing the discussion.
Pelosi became Minority Leader – the title held by the person who leads the opposition in the House of Representatives – in 2003. Then Democrats took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in more than a decade in 2006, and is became the first woman to lead a major party in both houses of Congress.
Pelosi became minority leader again four years later, but returned to the speaker seat in 2018.
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Analysis by Anthony Zurcher – BBC North America Correspondent
Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to lead a major party in both houses of the United States Congress, will go down in history as one of its most effective figures, an invaluable asset to Democrats and a formidable opponent to Republicans.
Her legislative acumen, her ability to hold a fractious party together when it matters, and her instincts for the political stage have made her a force on Capitol Hill as well as a lightning rod against her critics.
She hasn’t been the most flamboyant Democratic leader on television, her speeches and press conferences uninspiring, but her ability to keep her small, divided majority in the room together has earned her a few rivals.
His political instincts have always been solid, and his sense of legislative timing — when to pay, when to wait, and what it takes to get a vote — impeccable. And he did so at a time when House leadership had incentives, such as earmarked spending authorizations, to keep recalcitrant backbenchers in line.
During the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in search of the president and were filmed trashing his office and setting foot in it.
The length and depth of his grip on House Democrats, which stretches back more than two decades, has stunted the growth of young leaders within the House, who have waited years for a chance to rise into the party’s leadership structure. Now, finally, they may have their chance. But they will have a huge void to fill.
As Speaker of the House, Pelosi has played a pivotal role in advancing — or thwarting — the agendas of many presidents.
She is widely credited with orchestrating the passage of health care legislation signed by former President Barack Obama, as well as bills to address infrastructure and climate change under current President Joe Biden.
Pelosi has also directly challenged Donald Trump during his presidency, famously tearing up a copy of his State of the Union address while standing before her in Congress.
John Lawrence, Pelosi’s chief of staff, told the BBC he expected her to play a major role in advising new members of Congress and working with the White House now that Democrats are once again in the minority.
He added, “There’s never a good time to walk away. When you’re on the rise, you want to achieve a lot, and when things go against you, you want to fight back.”
In a statement Thursday, President Biden called Pelosi “the most important Speaker of the House in our history.”
