House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will “address her future plans” on Thursday, her spokesman said, as the longtime Democratic leader finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads.
“Speaker Pelosi has been inundated with calls from colleagues, friends and supporters. This afternoon, the President watched the returns in the three remaining critical situations. The President plans to address her future plans to her colleagues tomorrow. Stay tuned,” spokeswoman Drew Hammill tweeted.
There are two versions of her planned speech she took home Wednesday night, a source told CNN, and it’s unclear which version she will deliver.
Speculation about the California Democrat’s future has intensified since the midterm elections, with some in Washington — including members of her own party — expecting she may step down for a new generation of leadership to take over after Democrats lost the House. of the representatives. CNN predicted Wednesday that Republicans will take control of the chamber in January, though by a narrower margin than they had hoped.
Pelosi said in a separate statement Wednesday that House Democrats had “defied expectations” in the midterms, but did not indicate her future plans.
“This year, House Democrats defied expectations with an outstanding performance: they ran their races with courage, optimism and determination. In the next Congress, House Democrats will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda – with strong leverage over a slim Republican majority,” he wrote.
“House Democrats are thrilled to have so many amazing new and returning members in the House, who will invigorate our Caucus with their energy, diversity and patriotism. We salute our departing members for their wonderful leadership, achieving significant progress on health care, climate action, infrastructure, gun violence, veterans and more that can never be diminished.”
The longtime Democratic leader told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday’s “State of the Union” that members of her caucus had asked her to “consider” running in the party’s leadership election at the end of the month , adding: “But, again, let’s just get through the election.”
Any decision to run again, Pelosi said, “is about the family, as well as my colleagues, and what we want to do is move forward in a very unified way as we move forward to prepare for the Congress that’s right around the corner.”
“Nevertheless, a lot is at stake because we will be in presidential elections. So my decision will again be rooted in the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus,” he continued. “But none of that will be considered until we see what the outcome of all of this is. And there are all kinds of ways to exert influence.”
Pelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview earlier this month that the brutal attack on her husband in late October would have an impact on her decision-making about her political future.
Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer at the couple’s San Francisco home by a male assailant, authorities said. The perpetrator, according to court documents, was looking for the speaker of the Parliament.
Pelosi is a towering figure in American politics with a historic legacy that shattered glass ceilings as the first and so far only woman to become speaker of the US House of Representatives.
He was first elected speaker in 2007 and served in the role until 2011, when Democrats lost control of the House. In 2019, he was re-elected president after the Democrats won the House from the Republicans.
A small, but vocal, faction of Democrats initially worked to derail Pelosi’s bid to become the next speaker after the 2018 midterm elections, but she eventually secured the votes needed to reclaim the title. Before the final vote, Pelosi used her deal-making skills and negotiated a deal with some of the Democrats who were lobbying to exclude her from the speech. As part of the deal, Pelosi supported a proposal to establish term limits for the party’s top three leaders. However, the 2018 deal was an informal agreement and the caucus’s rules were never changed, imposing time limits on its term.
Pelosi was first elected to the House in 1987, when she won a special election to fill a seat representing California’s 5th Congressional District. Over the years, she has earned a reputation as a powerful and formidable leader of House Democrats who has wielded considerable influence and tight control over members of her caucus.
She has also been a fierce opponent of Republicans in Congress and the White House, and Republicans have made her a high-profile target of criticism from within their own party.
When she was first elected speaker, Pelosi reflected on the significance of the event and what it meant for women in the United States.
“This is a historic moment,” she said in a speech after accepting the speaker’s gavel. “This is a historic moment for the Congress. This is a historic moment for American women.”
