Nancy Pelosi to step down from leadership role, ending historic run as first woman speaker

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she will step down from her leadership role, ending a 20-year reign leading House Democrats with an iron grip and breaking barriers as the first woman speaker.

Her announcement on the House floor came a day after Republicans claimed a majority in the House in the next congressional term.

“For me, the hour's come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect,” she said while standing before a crowded House chamber.

Her decision comes after her party was able to halt an expected Republican wave in the House though Republicans will still have a majority, albeit much narrower than forecasted. It also occurs weeks after a brutal attack on her husband, Paul, last month in their San Francisco home.

The latest: House goes red; Senate GOP sticks with Mitch McConnell as leader: recap

Here are the latest developments:

Barack Obama: Pelosi ‘one of the most accomplished legislators’ in US history

Former President Barack Obama also praised Pelosi in a post on Twitter that featured a photo of himself and the House speaker.

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi will go down as one of most accomplished legislators in American history—breaking barriers, opening doors for others, and working every day to serve the American people. I couldn’t be more grateful for her friendship and leadership,” he wrote.

Pelosi helped usher major parts of Obama’s agenda through Congress while he was president, including the Affordable Care Act.

– Sean Rossman

Who is Hakeem Jeffries, possible successor to Nancy Pelosi?

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, emerged as the front-runner to lead House Democrats now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will step down from leadership.

Jeffries, 52, is a lawyer and former member of the New York state Assembly who took his seat in Congress in 2013.

He’s the fifth-ranking House Democrat and serves as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Hoyer endorsed him to be the new House Democratic leader and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, R-S.C., said he hopes Jeffries, along with Reps. Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, will be in the new House leadership next year. Pelosi has not endorsed anyone.

– Sean Rossman

Majority Whip Jim Clyburn endorses 3 members to lead House Democrats

In a statement on Pelosi's stepping down from leadership, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said he hopes Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar will be the future leaders of the Democratic party in the House.

"Speaker Pelosi has left an indelible mark on Congress and the country," Clyburn said in a statement. "I look forward to her continued service and doing whatever I can to assist our new generation."

Jeffries, a New York Democrats and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, is one of the favorites for House minority leader. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer endorsed Jeffries as well, after the Maryland congressman announced he would not seek reelection for party leadership either.

– Savannah Kuchar

Biden honors Pelosi's 'historic tenure'

President Joe Biden met with Pelosi this morning and "congratulated her on her historic tenure as Speaker of the House," according to the White House.

In a statement from the White House, Biden spoke to Pelosi's achievements in her role, including two Biden priorities: The American Rescue Plan and infrastructure bill.

"She might be stepping down from her leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus, but she will never waiver in protecting our sacred democracy," Biden said in the statement.

– Savannah Kuchar

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will also step down from leadership

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Thursday he will join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in stepping down from House Democratic leadership when the new Congress takes over next year.

“I have decided not to seek elected leadership in the 118th Congress,” Hoyer said in a statement. “It is time for me to continue my service in a different role. I intend to return to the Appropriations Committee to continue my work focusing on education, health care, and our workers.”

Hoyer, 83, a Maryland Democrat, has served alongside Pelosi and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.

– Sean Rossman

Pelosi’s departure on Jan. 3 will presage Democratic fight to pick successor

Pelosi will remain speaker until Jan. 3 when a new Congress is sworn in and Republicans will have the majority.

Kevin McCarthy is the presumptive favorite to assume the gavel after House GOP lawmakers nominated him for the position Tuesday.

Her departure will leave a leadership vacuum among Democrats.

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chair of the House Democratic Caucus is viewed as the frontrunner to succeed Pelosi as Democratic.

– Ledyard King

GOP former House Speaker Paul Ryan: ‘I tip my cap’

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan welcomed Pelosi to the “former speaker’s club” after her speech.

Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, preceded Pelosi as speaker before she reclaimed the gavel after the 2018 election.

“I tip my cap as I welcome @speakerpelosi to the former speaker’s club and congratulate her on a historic career in the House,” Ryan said in a tweet.

– Sean Rossman

Hugs and tears following Pelosi's announcements

Several lawmakers stayed behind on the House floor to embrace Pelosi, after she made her announcement.

Some were seen wiping tears away, her fellow members of Congress took turns coming up to the Speaker to hug her and shake her hand.

– Savannah Kuchar

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Pelosi to step down as House Democratic leader

Pelosi said Thursday afternoon she will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress.

“For me, the hours come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect,” she said.

Pelosi said regardless of her title, she will continue to stand on the floor and speak for the people of San Francisco.

“This I will continue to do as a member of the House,” she said.

- Rachel Looker

Pelosi warns of threats to democracy in address

In her address to the House, Pelosi praised American democracy as "majestic," while warning of its fragility.

“Democracy must be forever defended from forces that wish it harm,” she said.

Calling the Capitol, a "temple of our democracy," Pelosi said the public has already stood against threats from extremists, a reference to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

"Last week, the American people spoke," she said, referring to the midterm election outcomes.

-- Savannah Kuchar

Pelosi enters chamber to applause

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi entered the House chamber Thursday at noon to multiple rounds of applause by lawmakers.

Pelosi, who was smiling as she presided over the chamber, was interrupted multiple times as she gaveled the chamber to order.

- Rachel Looker 

Pelosi to address colleagues starting at noon

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will open proceedings in the House at noon today, before making remarks to her colleagues around 12:10 p.m., an aide said Thursday.

The 82-year-old has led the Democrats in the House of Representatives for two decades, rising to the rank of Speaker in 2007. When the Democrats lost the House in 2010, she became House Minority Leader. She became speaker again in 2019, a rare feat for a politician.

Observers are anxiously awaiting the announcement on her future plans now that the Republican Party has won control of the House for the session that starts in January.

- Erin Mansfield

Democratic leadership in the House

The impending departure of Pelosi, the first woman to hold a party leadership role or the speaker's post, sets up a potential generational change in Democratic leadership in the aftermath of losing the majority to Republicans for the 118th Congress that begins in January.

Pelosi mostly managed to keep House Democrats united on major pieces of legislation throughout her tenure, reconciling differences between progressives and moderates to pass landmark legislation, including President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure plan last year and the Affordable Care Act under former President Barack Obama.

Rank-and-file lawmakers in recent years clamored for new faces in leadership. Although titles change depending which party is in power, the hierarchy of House Democratic leadership has been the same for nearly two decades. Pelosi, 82, has been backed up by Reps. Steny Hoyer, 83, of Maryland, and James Clyburn, 82, of South Carolina.

Besides those two, one potential successor includes Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, of New York, who ranks fifth in leadership as chairman of the Democratic Caucus. Rep. Adam Schiff, 62, of California, who led the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump as head of the Intelligence Committee, is another possibility, though Politico reported Wednesday that he would not seek the post.

Pelosi spent decades as a Republican target, blasted as a “San Francisco liberal.” When rioters supporting Trump rampaged through the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, they called out "Where's Nancy?"

The man charged with attacking her husband Oct. 28 asked the same question.

- Associated Press

Pelosi broke ground for women

Pelosi was a trailblazer for women in politics. She became first woman to ascend to House leadership as Democratic whip in 2001, the first to lead a party in Congress two years later and the first to become speaker four years later. While Pelosi was in the House, recruiting and fundraising for candidates, the number of women serving in the chamber grew from 23 in 1987 to 127 this year, including non-voting delegates.

Hillary Clinton told USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page, who wrote the book "Madam Speaker," that Pelosi was “one of the very best inside political players that I’ve ever seen."

Pelosi is stepping down weeks after her husband’s skull was fractured by a hammer-wielding assailant in their home last month. Paul Pelosi left the hospital after a week, but she said "a long recovery process and convalescence" is expected.

Pelosi, a prolific fundraiser, rose through the ranks

Pelosi learned politics from her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., a former House member and three-term mayor of Baltimore. She won her House seat in a special election in June 1987.

Pelosi rose through the leadership ranks with prolific fundraising. She raised $1.25 billion for Democrats during the last 20 years, according to a party tally reported by the New York Times.

She became minority whip in 2001, beating Hoyer in a caucus election, and became the minority leader two years later.

Pelosi became the first woman speaker in 2007, when Democrats won control of the chamber for four years. Republicans then led the House for eight years before she returned for another four years as speaker in 2019.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Speaker Nancy Pelosi to step down as leader with GOP set to run House