US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will not seek a Democratic leadership role in the new Congress, but instead will carry out her term as a representative from San Francisco.
She told the caucus that “the time has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I respect so much.”
President Joe Biden had urged Pelosi, 82, to remain as party leader. But after nearly two decades in leadership positions in the House, he was ready to pass the baton.
Pelosi called the House “sacred ground” and the “heart of American democracy.”
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In 2007, when most Americans did not know who Nancy Pelosi was, she came to the fore as the leader of the Democrats in Congress.
As the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, the parties and celebrations went on for several days in DC.
In honor of his Italian heritage, the Italian pastries were flown in from a bakery in Baltimore’s Little Italy, where he grew up. A special morning mass was held for her in DC.
“We have waited more than 200 years for this moment,” Pelosi told a gathering of powerful women gathered for afternoon tea on a cold January day in 2007. “We have a friend in the United States Capitol.”
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On Thursday, he reminded his supporters that “American democracy is majestic but fragile.”
Many of us here have witnessed their fragility firsthand, tragically on camera,” Pelosi said. “And so Democracy must be forever defended from the forces that wish to harm it. Last week the American people spoke. And their voices were raised in defense of freedom, under the rule of law, and of Democracy itself.
Pelosi noted that when she was first elected to Congress in 1987, there were only 12 in the House of Representatives. “Now there are more than 90 and we want more,” she said. “The Democratic Caucus will now be made up of 75 percent women, people of color, and LGBTQ. And we have brought more voices to the decision-making table.”
In her next role, Pelosi said she was honored to simply speak on behalf of the people of San Francisco.
“There is no higher official honor for me,” he said.
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