On Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that she will not be seeking Democrat leadership in the 119th Congress that begins on January 3rd.
Nancy Pelosi, who has been in Congress since 1987 representing the city of San Francisco, announced to the hundreds of legislators present, “With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection in Democrat leadership in the next Congress. For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect. And I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.”
At the beginning of her speech, the two-time Speaker of the House spoke about her father, who served in Congress in the 1940s, and about first venturing Capitol Hill for his inauguration.
“On that day, I stood with my father on this floor as he took the sacred oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic,” Pelosi said. “All of us who have served on this house have taken the hallowed oath of office and it is the oath that stitches us together in a long and storied heritage.”
She then proceeded to speak about the founding principles of the country by praising George Washington and the many historic elected officials who roamed the halls of the House of Representatives.
The speaker then took a shot at Republicans by stating that the results of the midterm elections, where Republicans were disappointed by the lack of a red wave, were a defense of democracy: “Last week, the American people spoke and their voices were raised to the defense of liberty, of rule of law, and of democracy itself.”
Pelosi then highlighted the growth of diversity within the Democrat caucus in the House and stated that she could have never dreamed that she would go from homemaker to House Speaker.
“It has been my great pride that in the 35 years in the House I have seen this body grow more reflective of our great nation, our beautiful nation,” she stated, adding, “When I came to the Congress in 1987, there were 12 Democratic women. Now there are over 90 and we want more.”
She then boasted at the fact that 75 percent of the Democrat caucus were women, LGBTQ, or people of color: “When I entered leadership in 2002, there were eight of us. Today there are 17 members of the leadership.”
The congresswoman went on to list her legislative achievements and notably left out President Trump in her remarks: “It has been my privilege to play a part in forging extraordinary progress for the American people. I have enjoyed working with three presidents achieving historic investments in clean energy with President George Bush, transformative healthcare reform with President Barack Obama, and forging the future from infrastructure to healthcare to climate action with President Joe Biden.”
Pelosi then ended her speech by thanking the people of San Francisco, her staff, and her family for their support throughout her tenure. She then concluded her farewell address with the following: “A new day is dawning on the horizon and I look forward to the unfolding story of our nation. A story of light and love, of patriotism and progress, of many becoming one. And as always an unfinished mission to make the dreams of today the reality of tomorrow. Thank you all. May God bless you all and your families and may God continue to bless our veterans and the United States of America.”
The end of Nancy Pelosi’s time in leadership comes as the Republican Party has retaken the majority in the House of Representatives. On Tuesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected by House Republicans to lead the GOP in the next Congress as they seek to hold the Biden Administration accountable.
With Pelosi now out of the picture, the future of the Democratic leadership is now up for grabs at a time when Democrats will have to face down a Republican majority.
SOURCE: https://dcenquirer.com/nancy-pelosi-resignation-democrat-leadership/
