Nancy Pelosi
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.
Nancy Pelosi
John Boehner
Kevin McCarthy
Steny Hoyer
John Boehner
Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Steny Hoyer
- 5th district (1987–1993)
- 8th district (1993–2013)
- 12th district (2013–2023)
- 11th district (2023–present)
Richard J. O'Neill
Peter Kelly
- Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. (father)
Thomas D'Alesandro III (brother)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
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; she is the longest-serving member of California's Congressional delegation. 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". Expert assessments of Pelosi's two tenures as speaker have generally considered her to have had a very strong grasp on power in the Democratic majorities and to have been highly effective at the job.
Early life and education
Nancy Pelosi was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to an Italian-American family. She was the only daughter and the youngest of six children of Annunciata M. "Nancy" D'Alesandro (née Lombardi)[4] and Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.[5] Her mother was born in Fornelli, Isernia, Molise, in Southern Italy, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1912;[6] her father traced his Italian ancestry to Genoa, Venice and Abruzzo.[5] When Pelosi was born, her father was a Democratic congressman from Maryland. He became Baltimore mayor seven years later.[7][5][8] Pelosi's mother was also active in politics, organizing Democratic women and teaching her daughter political skills.[9] Pelosi's brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, also a Democrat, was elected Baltimore City Council president and later served as mayor from 1967 to 1971.[7]
Pelosi helped her father at his campaign events, and she attended President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in January 1961.[5]
In 1958, Pelosi graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore. In 1962, she graduated from Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.[10] Pelosi interned for Senator Daniel Brewster (D-Maryland) in the 1960s alongside future House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.[11]
First tenure as minority leader (2003–2007)
In November 2002, after Gephardt resigned as House minority leader to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election, Pelosi was elected to replace him, becoming the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress.[34] In the campaign to succeed Gephardt as the House Democratic Caucus's leader, Pelosi was challenged by Harold Ford Jr. and Marcy Kaptur. Kaptur withdrew her candidacy for the position before the November 15, 2002, caucus vote, and Pelosi defeated Ford 117–29 in the closed-door vote of caucus members.[35] Critics of Pelosi characterized her as too liberal to be a successful House leader.[36][37]
As minority leader, Pelosi sharply criticized the handling of the Iraq War by President Bush and his administration, in 2004 saying Bush had demonstrated areas of "incompetence".[38]
In a relative surprise, the Democratic Party lost three seats in the 2004 House elections, which coincided with Bush's reelection as president.[39] Focused on retaking the House majority in 2006, in her second term as minority leader Pelosi worked to criticize the Bush administration more effectively and to contrast the Democratic Party with it.[39][40] As part of this, Pelosi voiced even harsher criticism of Bush's handling of the Iraq War.[40] In November 2005, prominent congressional Democrat John Murtha proposed that the U.S. begin a withdrawal of troops from Iraq at the "earliest predictable date". Pelosi initially declined to commit to supporting Murtha's proposal.[41] Speaker Dennis Hastert soon brought to the floor a vote on a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops, seeking to trap Democrats into taking a more radical stance. Pelosi led Democrats in voting against the resolution, which failed in a 403–3 floor vote.[42] Roughly two weeks later, Pelosi held a press conference in which she endorsed Murtha's proposal.[43] Some critics believed that Pelosi's support for a troop withdrawal would prevent the Democrats from winning a House majority in the 2006 elections.[40]
During her time as minority leader, Pelosi was not well known to much of the American public. Before the 2006 elections, Republicans made a concerted effort to taint public perception of her, running advertisements assailing her.[44] Advertisements demonizing Pelosi became a routine part of Republican advertising in subsequent elections.[45] For instance, during the 2022 election cycle, Republicans ran more than $50 million in ads that negatively characterized or invoked Pelosi, and in the 2010 cycle, they spent more than $65 million on such ads.[45][46]
Continued House tenure (2023–present)
On November 29, 2022, the Steering and Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus honorarily named Pelosi "speaker emerita" in the upcoming 118th U.S. Congress.[157][158] Her second speakership, and her participation in the House Democratic Party leadership, concluded on January 3, 2023, at the end of the 117th Congress.[159]
House committee assignments and caucus memberships
In the House, Pelosi served on the Appropriations and Intelligence Committees and was the ranking member on the latter until her election as minority leader.[160] She is a member of the House Baltic Caucus.[161]
Role as a Democratic Party fundraiser
Early in her political career, Pelosi established herself as a prominent fundraiser in the party.[30] She was one of the party's most prolific fundraisers, transferring significant funds to committees for other candidates.[162][163] During the 2000 and 2002 election cycles, compared to other members of Congress, she contributed the most money to other congressional campaigns.[164] In 2006, Pelosi was the Democratic Party's third-largest fundraiser, behind former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.[44] From 2003 to 2014, Pelosi raised more than $400 million in campaign funds.[163]