Speaker Nancy Pelosi Passes the Gavel
Staying On But Making Room for the Younger Generation of Leaders
Issue #181 Government OpEd November 18, 2022
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On Thursday, November 18, 2022, 82-year-old Nancy Pelosi, the first and only woman to be elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives—twice—gave a speech that detailed her decision to step down from her leadership position at the end of this 117th Congress on January 3, 2023.
Nancy was dressed in a “Suffragettes White” pantsuit and her signature 4-inch heels.
While the Republicans are falsely (of course) claiming that they “fired Nancy,” the truth is that Speaker Pelosi promised long ago that she would only serve as Speaker a total of two times, and she kept her promise.
Some may say that she was pushed toward her decision by 1) the loss of the House to a new Republican majority starting next January, and/or 2) the heinous attack on her husband at her San Francisco home by someone who broke in, planning to kill her instead, but she wasn’t home at the time.
No one can really say what Nancy might have done if the Democrats had retained their majority in the House after the midterms. There are probably many Democrats who would have preferred that she continue as Speaker for a 3rd term, despite her earlier promise.
But the Republicans did win control of the House for the upcoming 118th Congress, although by the slimmest of margins. During the campaigns, the Republicans roiled about everything they said was wrong with the Biden administration: high inflation (inflation is coming down), high gas prices (gas prices have been falling since last spring), caravans of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border (those “caravans” show up every two years just before the November elections), the withdrawal from Afghanistan (the date was set years before by Trump with no input from the Taliban), the “woke” agenda (yeah, right), and of course, the COVID-19 shutdowns (as if we were supposed to go around infecting each other just by breathing on everybody). But that was then…
As soon as control of the House was called for them, they ran to the mikes to announce their real agenda items: HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP! Impeach Biden, Harris, Blinken, Garland, Mayorkas, and Fauci, and don’t forget: HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP! They also want to “defund” the FBI and the DOJ, and limit or eliminate financial support for Ukraine, all while holding multiple additional hearings about HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP!
What will happen in the next Congress?
So, is this really a good time for Nancy to step down from the House Leadership positions she’s held for twenty years?
Yes, and here is why:
The number one reason is that Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, Steny Hoyer as Majority Leader, and Jim Clyburn, as Majority Whip, all of whom are in their 80s, are all stepping back from their leadership positions to pass them on to younger House Leaders. All of them will be staying in Congress for the next session in 2023, and that is very important to remember. Youth is important, but so are age, experience, and wisdom.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the current Democratic Caucus Chairman, is widely believed to be elected as the next Minority Leader. He has been groomed for this position by Nancy for a very long time and will be the first Black person in either house of Congress to attain this position.
Rep. Kathleen Clark, the current Assistant Speaker of the House, is being touted as becoming the next Assistant Minority Leader.
Rep. Pete Aguilar is slated to become the next Minority Whip, the person who gets the votes for a bill.
All three of the potential minority leaders for the 118th Congress will have to be officially elected by the Democratic House members on January 3, but unlike the fights going on with the Republicans, it is not expected that the Democrats will be fighting amongst themselves because the prospective party leaders have been groomed for these positions for a long time.
The Legacy of Nancy Pelosi
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and ran for office for the first time and won her Congressional seat at age 47 after she raised her five children. One of the great quotes from her speech: “I went from housewife to Speaker of the House!” But Nancy also came from a very active political family.
Her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., was mayor of Baltimore for twelve years, and then represented Baltimore in Congress for five terms. Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro, III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. Nancy moved to San Francisco after marrying her husband, Paul Pelosi.
Nancy is famous for her strength. Whether she was holding her Caucus together even when some—especially the Progressive members—thought she was wrong or weak, or keeping the Caucus strong against the Republicans and especially against Donald Trump, who made her their biggest foe after Hillary Clinton, Nancy never flinched.
When Nancy talked about her successes in helping to pass signature legislation for the presidents under which she worked, she mentioned working on the environment with President George W. Bush, passing the Affordable Care Act with President Barack Obama, and of course the American Rescue Plan and many more with President Joe Biden in less than two years. Donald Trump’s name did not pass her lips in yesterday’s speech.
When Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, attempting a coup to disrupt the counting of the Electoral College votes, threatening to kill Vice President Pence and also seeking to kill her, Nancy kept her cool. Along with the new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others, she stayed on the phone as they were hiding from their potential assassins and ensured that the Capitol Building would be safe for Congress to return and finish their count, which they did at 1:30 am the next morning.
This was while Republican Senator Josh Hawley gave the insurrectionists a fist bump of support before the breaching of the Capitol and then ran for his life when they actually broke in. Nancy stood strong and did the job she was sent to Congress to do in 1987.
Here is Nancy’s speech to Congress:
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