Nancy Pelosi to step down as leader of House Democrats

Nancy Pelosi on Thursday announced that she would step down as the leader of the Democrats in the US House of Representatives.

The move comes after Republicans took control of the House following midterm elections, with Kevin McCarthy of California expected to become the next speaker. 

Pelosi: 'The hour has come for a new generation'

She said she would not seek a leadership position in the chamber after her time as speaker ends in January. 

"Now we must move boldly into the future," 82-year-old Pelosi said. "The hour has come for a new generation." 

Pelosi hailed the "majestic miracle" of American democracy, with her remarks receiving cheers from fellow lawmakers. She said that "democracy must be forever defended from forces that wish it harm."    

Pelosi is expected to back New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries as Democratic House Minority Leader. House Democrats will hold a leadership vote on November 30.

Pelosi's decision could also impact whether Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Democratic Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina also step down from their leadership roles.    

President Joe Biden praised Pelosi as a "fierce defender of democracy" following her remarks. 

An unparalleled Democratic legacy

Pelosi's first term in the House was in 1987, after she won a special election in California. An Italian-American, her father was a former congressman and mayor. 

In 2002 she became House Minority Whip, and then leader of the House Democratic Caucus the next year.  

During Republican President George W. Bush's second term in office in 2006, Democrats swept the House during midterm elections amid public fatigue regarding foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pelosi became Speaker of the House the next year, make her the first woman to hold the speaker's gavel.

During her first term as speaker, she criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq War and his efforts to reform Social Security.

Democrat Barack Obama was elected to the presidency in 2008, with Pelosi instrumental to his legislative accomplishments. She helped push through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus package amid the Great Recession.     

Pelosi and the Democrats lost the House majority, and she was succeeded as speaker by Ohio Republican John Boehner following the 2010 midterms.

After several years in the opposition, Pelosi again became speaker in 2019, after Democrats regained the House during the presidency of Donald Trump. She was a strong critic of Trump, and led two separate House efforts to impeach him regarding the 2019 Ukraine scandal and the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol. 

Most recently, Pelosi played a key role in aiding Biden's legislative agenda after he was inaugurated in January 2021. She helped Biden pass a COVID-19 stimulus package and legislation to improve US infrastructure and climate change efforts.        

In August, Pelosi visited Taiwan and became the highest-ranking US official to visit the island in over two decades. The visit angered Beijing, with China carrying out military drills in response.  

Pelosi's decision to resign comes after her husband, Paul, was attacked at her San Francisco home with a hammer. She said the event would have an impact on her political future.  

wd/fb (AP, AFP, Reuters)