Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) leading House Leadership at a press conference on Dec. 18, 2019 following the vote by House of Representatives on the articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump.

WASHINGTON – For Nancy Pelosi, her 40-year career in Washington, DC is packed with groundbreaking and viral moments that solidified her legacy as one of the most powerful women in U.S. politics.

The California Democrat announced Nov. 6 that she would not run for another term, marking the end of a career that included becoming the first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Her career saw the spearheading of the two impeachments of President Donald Trump and the reshaping of the 2024 presidential election by pushing President Joe Biden out.

A lot can happen in 40 years, and for Pelosi, a lot did. Here are the top moments of her career that shaped not only national politics, but the United States’ standing across the globe:

First (and only, so far) woman to serve as House Speaker

She broke the marble ceiling.

Pelosi in 2007 was the first woman in nearly 250 years of U.S. history to be elected as speaker of the House, gaining the position following Democrats' major victories in the 2006 midterm election amid dissatisfaction over the U.S. war on terror.

Those victories sealed Democratic majorities in Congress and ensured a lame-duck presidency for George W. Bush and paved the way for Pelosi's place in history.

“I accept this gavel, in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship,” Pelosi said during her acceptance speech on Jan. 4, 2007. Addressing then-House Minority Leader John Boehner, Pelosi said she looked forward to working with both he and Republicans “for the good of the American people.”

House speakers are second-in-line to become president of the United States - behind only the vice president - if a president cannot carry out their duties.

Not only was she the first woman, she was also the first Italian-American speaker and the first-ever Californian to serve in that position. It followed several firsts for Pelosi on Capitol Hill. She was also the first woman to have held the positions as both House Democratic whip in 2001 and House Democratic leader in 2002.

Pelosi served as House speaker from 2007 to 2011, and went on to be elected House speaker again in 2019 after winning back the House during the midterm elections under Trump's first presidency – the first person to do so in more than 60 years.

The Obamacare win

While it has President Barack Obama’s namesake, Pelosi was the chief architect of “Obamacare.”

Pelosi helped orchestrate the landmark Affordable Care Act, getting the sweeping health care reform legislation passed in Congress and to Obama’s desk. The law enacted the most significant overhaul to the U.S. healthcare system since Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 by expanding health care coverage through Medicaid and a new health insurance marketplace.

During President Donald Trump’s first term, Republicans on Capitol Hill attempted to repeal the law in 2017. Pelosi led the Democratic effort to defend the legislation, which led to sweeping victories for Democrats and got them back to the majority in the House following the 2018 midterms.

A clap that became a meme

After those victories in the 2018 midterms, Pelosi was back as speaker. And one of her first moves back in power? A viral moment during Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address.

Sitting next to Vice President Mike Pence, Pelosi stretched out her arms, tilted her head down with a big smirk, and clapped towards the president as he called to end the “politics of revenge.”

It was a “clapback” that became an instant viral meme. Pelosi in the days after said “it wasn’t sarcastic” and that the president’s message to embrace compromise was a “very welcome” message to Democrats.

The next year, Pelosi had another viral moment at Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address after she ripped up the president’s speech.

Trump’s 2020 address came after the House of Representatives, led by Pelosi, voted to impeach the president. The day after his address, the Senate acquitted the president.

Pelosi tore the text of Trump’s speech and tossed it aside while the president was still in the building. She later waved the ripped pieces in the air.

Impeaching Trump

It was only the third time a president had ever been impeached. Pelosi led the effort, even if she was at first hesitant to do so.

In late 2019, the Democratic-led House under Pelosi’s leadership as speaker voted to approve two articles of impeachment against Trump over demanding Ukraine investigate his political rivals as a way to benefit his 2020 reelection campaign.

Pelosi dragged her feet in endorsing the efforts to impeach Trump, which led to months of Democratic political infighting.

After a three-week trial, the Senate voted to acquit Trump and the president remained in office to serve out the remainder of his term.

Jan. 6 and impeaching Trump … again

Pelosi's career took a dramatic turn with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Several months after the riots, Pelosi told USA TODAY that she was sure the mob that stormed her workplace wanted to kill her.

The Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection that came two months after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. After holding a rally in Washington D.C., at least 2,000 of Trump’s supporters took over the U.S. Capitol while Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence were set to certify the votes from the election.

Rioters stormed Pelosi’s office, including Richard “Bigo” Barnett, who was convicted after he was photographed putting his feet up on a desk in Pelosi’s suite of offices and jotted her an insulting note in which he referred to her as a "biotch."

Pelosi, once again, led the effort as the House just one week after the riot impeached Trump for inciting an “insurrection.” The Senate acquitted Trump again.

A year after Pelosi’s efforts to impeach Trump, a man attacked her husband, Paul, in their San Francisco home in October 2022. The man, David Wayne DePape, was sentenced to life in prison for the attack with a hammer that left Paul Pelosi bleeding and unconscious. DePape broke into their home looking for Nancy Pelosi.

Recovering from the 2008 financial crisis

It’s the bailout that likely averted another Great Depression.

And it also likely cost Pelosi her speakership.

Pelosi helped engineer Bush’s rescue for the 2008 financial meltdown that triggered a mortgage crisis, and threatened both the U.S. and world economy. She helped get the $700 billion legislation passed, which created federal programs to bail out failing banks. The program went on to use $475 billion under the law.

The move caused an uproar among Americans, many who were in debt and lost their homes. Pelosi said she believed that blowback cost her the speakership after Democrats saw major losses in the 2010 midterms. It's not unusual for the party that holds the presidency to see losses during midterm elections.

Promoting climate

Pelosi wanted to tackle the climate crisis.

In 2007, she created the “Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming” to draw attention to the causes and effects of climate change. But the committee didn’t last long, ending in 2010 after Republicans gained the majority.

Pelosi was also instrumental in ensuring the House passed landmark legislation that called for a cut in greenhouse gas emissions, mandated that 20 percent of electricity comes from renewable sources and also offered protections for businesses to help them transition to new, less-fossil fuel-intensive ways.

Despite Pelosi’s narrow victory in getting it passed in the House, the legislation did not pass in the Senate.

But that didn't stop her pursuit to address the growing climate crisis in future legislation. Pelosi pushed for major spending on clean energy, clean vehicles, and clean manufacturing in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022.

Pelosi’s support for Tibet

Pelosi represents San Francisco, home to a major Tibetan population and she's long been outspoken about Tibet and her support for the Dalai Lama.

In 2014, Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama along with other Congressional lawmakers when he visited the U.S. Capitol. During that visit, he prayed to the Senate to “dispel misery of the world.”

Pelosi has made three trips to Dharamsala, India to meet with the Dalai Lama, in 2008, 2017 and 2024. As she reaffirmed Congress’ support for Tibet, Pelosi has repeatedly called out the Chinese government's human rights record against the Tibetan people.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge, and tradition and compassion and purity of soul and love, he will live a long time, and his legacy will live forever,” Pelosi said in remarks during her visit to Dharamsala in 2024. “But to you, President of China, you'll be gone, and nobody will give you credit for anything.”

A Taiwan flashpoint

Tensions were heating up with China, but that didn’t stop Pelosi.

In 2022, Pelosi was at the center of a confrontation between the United States and China. Pelosi went on a delegation trip through the Indo-Pacific region, which included stops in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. But at the time, she also stopped in Taiwan where she met with leaders and said that Americans stand with the self-governing island.

The Biden administration at the time said that Pelosi’s trip was “totally consistent” with U.S. policy, but John Kirby, the strategic coordinator for the National Security Council, at the time also said that nothing had changed about the United States’ “adherence to the One China policy” and that the U.S. does not support Taiwan independence.

The trip came as tensions were rising between President Joe Biden and China. Months before Pelosi’s trip, Biden said the U.S. has a military commitment to defend Taiwan.

Following Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, China conducted live-fire military drills in response.

‘It’s up to the president’

President Joe Biden was steadfast.

He said over and over that he was going to stay in the 2024 presidential race, despite the growing calls from members in his own party for him to step aside following his debate against then-Republican candidate Trump that was marred with gaffes and long pauses.

Then entered Pelosi.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on July 10, 2024. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”

When pressed that Biden said he was going to stay in the election, Pelosi said “I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”

Eleven days later, Biden made the decision to end his campaign.

He went on to back his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the nominee. With 107 days left of the 2024 presidential, Harris scrambled to build a campaign that ultimately lost against Trump.

Pelosi later said in an interview with the New Yorker in August 2024, just weeks after her initial comments and after Biden dropped out, that her ultimate goal was to ensure Trump “would never set foot in the White House again.”

It was a goal she did not achieve.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nancy Pelosi is retiring after a groundbreaking career. Here are her top 10 moments.

Reporting by Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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