Nancy Pelosi | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Ryan |
| Succeeded by | Kevin McCarthy |
| In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Hastert |
| Succeeded by | John Boehner |
| House Minority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Whip | Steny Hoyer |
| Preceded by | John Boehner |
| Succeeded by | Kevin McCarthy |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Whip | Steny Hoyer |
| Preceded by | Dick Gephardt |
| Succeeded by | John Boehner |
| Leader of the House Democratic Caucus | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Deputy | Steny Hoyer |
| Preceded by | Dick Gephardt |
| Succeeded by | Hakeem Jeffries |
| House Minority Whip | |
| In office January 15, 2002 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Leader | Dick Gephardt |
| Preceded by | David Bonior |
| Succeeded by | Steny Hoyer |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California | |
| Assumed office June 2, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Sala Burton |
| Constituency |
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| Chair of the California Democratic Party | |
| In office February 27, 1981 – April 3, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Richard J. O'Neill |
| Succeeded by | Peter Kelly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro March 26, 1940 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, including Christine and Alexandra |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Thomas D'Alesandro III (brother) |
| Residence(s) | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Education | Trinity College, Washington (BA) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2024) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Liberalism in the United States |
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Nancy Patricia Pelosi (/pəˈloʊsi/ pə-LOH-see; née D'Alesandro; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who served as the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected as U.S. House Speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress, leading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023. A member of the House since 1987, Pelosi currently represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco. She is the dean of California's congressional delegation.
Pelosi was born and raised in Baltimore, and is the daughter of mayor and congressman Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She graduated from Trinity College, Washington, in 1962 and married businessman Paul Pelosi the next year; the two had met while both were students. They moved to New York City before settling down in San Francisco with their children. Focused on raising her family, Pelosi stepped into politics as a volunteer for the Democratic Party in the 1960s. After years of party work, rising to chair the state party, she was first elected to Congress in a 1987 special election and is now in her 19th term. Pelosi steadily rose through the ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected House minority whip in 2001[1] and elevated to House minority leader a year later,[2] becoming the first woman to hold each of those positions in either chamber of Congress.
In the 2006 midterm elections, Pelosi led the Democrats to a majority in the House for the first time in 12 years and was subsequently elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to hold the office.[3] Until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021, Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the presidential line of succession in U.S. history, as the speaker of the House is second in the line of succession. During her first speakership, Pelosi was a major opponent of the Iraq War as well as the Bush administration's attempts to partially privatize Social Security. She participated in the passage of the Obama administration's landmark bills, including the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the 2010 Tax Relief Act. Pelosi lost the speakership after the Republican Party retook the majority in the 2010 midterm elections, but she retained her role as leader of the House Democrats and became House minority leader for a second time.
In the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats regained majority control of the House, and Pelosi was again elected Speaker, becoming the first former speaker to reclaim the gavel since Sam Rayburn in 1955. During her second speakership, the House twice impeached President Donald Trump, first in December 2019 and again in January 2021; the Senate acquitted Trump both times. She participated in the passage of the Biden administration's landmark bills, including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and the Respect for Marriage Act. In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans narrowly regained control of the House for the new Congress, ending her tenure as speaker. She subsequently retired as House Democratic leader. On November 29, 2022, the Steering and Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus named Pelosi "Speaker Emerita".
- ^ Eilperin, Juliet (October 11, 2001). "Democrats Pick Pelosi as House Whip". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ Loughlin, Sean (November 15, 2002). "Democrats pick Pelosi as House leader". edition.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ Branigin, William (January 4, 2007). "Pelosi Sworn in as First Woman Speaker of the House". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 19, 2023.