SPEAKER EMERITA NANCY PELOSI WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION TO THE U.S. HOUSE, BRINGING TO A CLOSE HER STORIED CAREER AS NOT ONLY THE FIRST WOMAN IN THE SPEAKER'S OFFICE BUT ARGUABLY THE MOST POWERFUL IN AMERICAN POLITICS.

 

PELOSI, WHO HAS REPRESENTED SAN FRANCISCO FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS, ANNOUNCED HER DECISION ON THURSDAY.

SOUNDBITE (English) Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi:

“Thank you, San Francisco, for trusting me to be your voice in Congress.”

 

THE DECISION, WHILE NOT FULLY UNEXPECTED, RICOCHETED ACROSS WASHINGTON AND CALIFORNIA. 

 

PELOSI REMAINS A POLITICAL POWERHOUSE AND PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE WITH CALIFORNIA'S REDISTRICTING EFFORT, PROP 50, AND THE PARTY'S COMEBACK IN THIS MONTH'S ELECTION.

 

PELOSI, WHO'S 85, CAME TO POLITICS LATER IN LIFE, A MOTHER OF FIVE MOSTLY GROWN CHILDREN.

 

FIRST ELECTED IN 1987 AFTER HAVING WORKED IN CALIFORNIA STATE PARTY POLITICS, SHE HAS SPENT SOME FOUR DECADES IN PUBLIC OFFICE.

 

DURING HER FIRST TENURE AS SPEAKER, FROM 2007 TO 2011, SHE STEERED THE HOUSE IN PASSING LANDMARK LEGISLATION INTO LAW — THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, THE DODD-FRANK FINANCIAL REFORMS IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE GREAT RECESSION AND A REPEAL OF THE MILITARY’S DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL POLICY AGAINST LGBTQ SERVICE MEMBERS.

 

SHE BECAME THE FIRST SPEAKER TO REGAIN THE OFFICE IN SOME 50 YEARS, AND HER SECOND TERM, FROM 2019 TO 2023, BECAME POTENTIALLY MORE CONSEQUENTIAL THAN THE FIRST, PARTICULARLY AS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S ANTIDOTE TO TRUMP.

 

WHILE PELOSI REMAINS AN UNMATCHED FORCE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, HAVING FUNDRAISED MORE THAN $1 BILLION OVER HER CAREER, HER NEXT STEPS ARE UNCERTAIN.