Nancy Pelosi To Step Down As House Democratic Leader

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will step down from leadership, a seismic change for Democrats that ends her historic 20-year run atop the caucus and clears the path ahead for a new generation of leaders to take the helm.

“I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” she told her colleagues.

Pelosi announced her decision on the House floor after weeks of breathless speculation about her future plans. She wore all white and her signature power brooch representing the Mace of the Republic, which symbolizes the legislative authority of the House of Representatives.

Her news means uncharted waters ahead for the House Democratic Caucus, which has been led by the same trio of people since 2003, all of whom are now in their 80s. Pelosi’s longtime top deputies, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), have not yet announced their future plans.

But the heirs apparent are already falling into place. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who currently chairs the Democratic Caucus, is widely seen as Pelosi’s successor. Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) respectively, have long been discussed as his deputies.

Nothing is set in stone, though. For now, the only news is that Pelosi is relinquishing her top spot ahead of House Democrats’ leadership elections on Nov. 30.

The California Democrat made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as speaker of the House. She made history again in 2019 when she was elected speaker for a second time, making her the first person to do so in more than 60 years.

Her prized legislative accomplishments as speaker include passage of the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s signature health care plan that Pelosi arguably brought back from the brink of defeat and helped usher into law in 2010. She was also instrumental in passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, which overhauled financial regulation after the 2008 financial crisis, and repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010.

More recently, she helped push through the American Rescue Plan in 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package that helped speed up the country’s recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pelosi’s decision to step down comes a week after Democrats’ stunning performance in last week’s midterm elections. Instead of getting clobbered at the polls in what many predicted would be a “red wave,” Democrats defeated Republicans in competitive races and defied history by doing so well amid high inflation and at a time when their party’s president is in the White House. Republicans will still retake the House in January, but barely.

Prominent Democrats made it clear they wanted Pelosi to stick around. President Joe Biden reportedly asked Pelosi directly to stay for another two years. When Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was asked Monday if he thought she should stay in her post as House Democratic leader, he responded, “I hope she does. I love her.”

Schumer was among those in the House for Pelosi’s remarks, along with virtually all House Democrats. Just one GOP leader was spotted, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).