Nancy Pelosi Retiring After 20th Congressional Term
On Thursday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi announced she would be retiring from Congress at the end of her 20th term.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Pelosi announced her retirement in a 6-minute video posted on social media. “It seems prophetic now that the slogan of my very first campaign in 1987 was ‘a voice that will be heard,’” Pelosi said in the video. “And it was you who made those words come true. It was the faith that you had placed in me and the latitude that you had given me that enabled me to shatter the marble ceiling and be the first woman Speaker of the House, whose voice would certainly be heard.”
“There has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco,’” Pelosi added. Pelosi intends to finish her term, which ends in January 2027.
Before being elected to Congress in 1987, Nancy Pelosi served as the chair of the California Democratic Party. During her time in Congress, Pelosi would make history in 2003 when she became the first woman to serve as House Democratic leader. She would quickly make history again in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She served in the role from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023. During her second term as House Speaker, Pelosi stepped down from the role as House Democratic leader in 2023 to allow a new generation to lead the party.
Some of Pelosi’s most notable legislative accomplishments came during President Barack Obama’s first term. During the fallout from the 2008 Housing Crisis, Pelosi was instrumental in passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, both of which were essential in stabilizing the American economy. Pelosi is widely hailed as one of the primary architects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which significantly reduced the number of uninsured Americans.
In 2024, President Joe Biden awarded Nancy Pelosi the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her legislative accomplishments. Despite Pelosi being one of the key figures who convinced Biden to drop out of the 2024 election, Biden still hailed Nancy Pelosi as “the best Speaker of the House in American history,” in a post on X. “She has devoted much of her life to this country, and America will always be grateful,” Biden added.
Due to her long-standing role as a leader of the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi has also been the subject of the GOP’s vitriol. She was the subject of one of every five Republican attack ads during the 2018 election. In recent years, specifically after the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, the vitriol has increased from heated words to actual violence. During the riot, her office was raided by members of the mob, with several of them chanting, “Where’s Nancy?” A woman who was sentenced to 60 days in prison due to her role in the Capitol Riot said, “We were looking for Nancy to shoot her in the frickin’ brain,” in a self-recorded video. Sadly, the violence eventually hit home in 2022 when her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked by a home intruder who intended to kidnap her.
Several Democratic politicians released statements celebrating Nancy Pelosi’s accomplishments during her time in Congress. “Nancy Pelosi has inspired generations,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “Her courage and conviction to San Francisco, California, and our nation has set the standard for what public service should be. Her impact on this nation is unmatched.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Pelosi “the greatest Speaker of all time. The United States is a much better nation today because Nancy Pelosi dedicated her life to serving the children, the climate, the country, and the American people.”
Of course, our deep-fried Cheeto of a president had to get his two cents in about Pelosi’s retirement. “The retirement of Nancy Pelosi is a great thing for America. She was evil, corrupt, and only focused on bad things for our country.” Trump said during a Fox News interview on Thursday. “I’m very honored she impeached me twice and failed miserably twice. Nancy Pelosi is a highly overrated politician.”
Such class, such grace.
While I’ve long had my issues with establishment Democrats, I cannot deny that Nancy Pelosi was a trailblazer who forged an impressive and historic legacy during her tenure in Congress. Here’s hoping that Republicans can finally get her name out of their mouths.
Nancy Pelosi Retiring After 20th Congressional Term was originally published on newsone.com
