Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold the powerful office, announced she would step down as the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, a day after Republicans won a narrow majority in the midterm elections.
Pelosi, 82, has said she will remain in Congress and represent San Francisco in the House, as she has for 35 years. According to the newspaper, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York may try to replace him as the first Democrat in the House of Representatives. Jeffries would be the first black lawmaker to lead a major caucus in Congress.
American democracy is majestic but fragile. Many of us have experienced our fragility firsthand, tragically, in this conference room. That is why democracy must be protected forever from forces that would harm it
Pelosi said, referring to the attack on the Capitol last year by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, the Republicans are expected to win control of the House of Representatives after last week’s congressional elections, giving them a narrow majority in the House that will allow them to block the legislative agenda of Democratic President Joe Biden. On the other hand, the Democrats retained control of the Senate. We wrote more about this here:
The newspaper indicates that Pelosi played a central role in advancing the legislative agenda of Democratic President Joe Biden through Congress, as she did with Democratic President Barack Obama. Pelosi was the highest ranking and most powerful woman elected in US history until Kamala Harris became Vice President in January 2021.
House Democrats will vote on their leaders on November 30.
Cover image: Getty Images
