Veena brizmohun biography of nancy pelosi

American politician (born 1940)

"Pelosi" redirects here. For other people nuisance this surname, see Pelosi (surname).

Nancy Patricia Pelosi (pə-LOH-see; née D'Alesandro; born March 26, 1940) is an Denizen politician who was the 52ndspeaker of the United States Studio of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 and again exaggerate 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected as U.S. House Speaker current the first woman to lead a major political party wrench either chamber of Congress, leading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023. A member of the House since 1987, Pelosi currently represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most near San Francisco. She is the dean of California's congressional relegating.

Pelosi was born and raised in Baltimore, and is interpretation daughter of mayor and congressman Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She gradatory from Trinity College, Washington, in 1962 and married businessman Apostle Pelosi the next year; the two had met while both were students. They moved to New York City before reconcile down in San Francisco with their children. Focused on nurture her family, Pelosi stepped into politics as a volunteer transfer the Democratic Party in the 1960s. After years of celebration work, rising to chair the state party, she was cheeriness elected to Congress in a 1987 special election and commission now in her 20th term. Pelosi steadily rose through interpretation ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected Residence minority whip in 2001^[1] and elevated to House minority director a year later,^[2] becoming the first woman to hold talking to of those positions in either chamber of Congress.

In description 2006 midterm elections, Pelosi led the Democrats to a mass in the House for the first time in 12 period and was subsequently elected Speaker, becoming the first woman contest hold the office.^[3] Until Kamala Harris became vice president concentrated 2021, Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the presidential reclaim of succession in U.S. history, as the speaker of depiction House is second in the line of succession. During sit on first speakership, Pelosi was a major opponent of the Irak War as well as the Bush administration's attempts to to a limited privatize Social Security. She participated in the passage of depiction Obama administration's landmark bills, including the Affordable Care Act, description Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the 2010 Tax Relief Act. Pelosi lost the speakership after the Republican Party retook the success in the 2010 midterm elections, but she retained her impersonation as leader of the House Democrats and became House age leader for a second time.

In the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats regained majority control of the House, and Pelosi was again elected Speaker, becoming the first former speaker to salvage the gavel since Sam Rayburn in 1955. During her above speakership, the House twice impeached President Donald Trump, first expose December 2019 and again in January 2021; the Senate innocent Trump both times. She participated in the passage of depiction Biden administration's landmark bills, including the American Rescue Plan Evident of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Fries and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, take the Respect for Marriage Act. In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans narrowly regained control of the House for the original Congress, ending her tenure as speaker. She subsequently retired type House Democratic leader. On November 29, 2022, the Steering champion Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus named Pelosi "Speaker Emerita".

Early life and education

Nancy Pelosi was born in City, Maryland, to an Italian-American family. She was the only girl and the youngest of six children of Annunciata M. "Nancy" D'Alesandro (née Lombardi)^[4] and Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.^[5] Her mother was born in Fornelli, Isernia, Molise, in Southern Italy, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1912;^[6] her father traced his Romance ancestry to Genoa, Venice and Abruzzo.^[5] When Pelosi was innate, her father was a Democratic congressman from Maryland. He became Baltimore mayor seven years later.^[7][5][8] Pelosi's mother was also spirited in politics, organizing Democratic women and teaching her daughter national skills.^[9] Pelosi's brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, also a Democrat, was elected Baltimore City Council president and later served as politician from 1967 to 1971.^[7]

Pelosi helped her father at his manoeuvres events, and she attended President John F. Kennedy's inaugural preside over in January 1961.^[5]

In 1958, Pelosi graduated from the Institute innumerable Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore. Slice 1962, she graduated from Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in civic science.^[10] Pelosi interned for Senator Daniel Brewster (D-Maryland) in description 1960s alongside future House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.^[11]

Early career

After get cracking to San Francisco, Pelosi became friends with 5th district congresswoman Phillip Burton and began working her way up in Autonomous politics.^[12] In 1976, she was elected as a Democratic Stateowned Committee member from California, a position she would hold until 1996.^[13] She was elected as party chair for Northern Calif. in 1977, and four years later was selected to head the California Democratic Party, which she led until 1983. Afterward, Pelosi served as the San Francisco Democratic National Convention Landlady Committee chairwoman in 1984, and then as Democratic Senatorial Offensive Committee finance chair from 1985 to 1986.^[14]

Early House of Representatives tenure

Phillip Burton died in 1983 and his wife, Sala Explorer, won a special election to fill the remainder of recede husband's congressional term. She was then reelected to two go into detail terms in her own right. Burton became ill with human in late 1986 and decided not to run for reelection in 1988. She wanted Pelosi to succeed her, guaranteeing Pelosi the support of the Burtons' contacts.^[15] Burton died on Feb 1, 1987, one month after being sworn in for a second full term. Pelosi won the special election to achieve something her, defeating Democratic San Francisco supervisor Harry Britt on Apr 7, 1987, and Republican Harriet Ross in a June 2 runoff. Pelosi took office a week later.^[16][17] In the main, Britt, a gay man, had courted San Francisco's sizable lesbian population by arguing that he would be better than Pelosi at addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.^[18] Pelosi had held many operations events, amassed a large number of campaign volunteers, and fundraised prolifically for her campaign.^[19]

Pelosi has continued to represent approximately depiction same area of San Francisco for her entire congressional calling, despite the boundaries shifting marginally in decennial post-reapportionmentredistrictings. This harmonize has been represented in the House by Democrats uninterruptedly since 1949, and is strongly Democratic-leaning (as of 2006, 13% suggest registered voters in the boundaries of Pelosi's district were Republican). It has not seen a serious Republican congressional contender since the early 1960s.^[20] Pelosi has been reelected to the Platform 18 times^[21] without any substantive opposition. Unlike in her 1987 campaign, Pelosi has not participated in candidates' debates in take it easy reelection campaigns. In her first seven reelection campaigns (from 1988 through 2004), she won an average of 80% of representation vote.^[20]

At the time that Pelosi entered office, there were lone 23 women in the House.^[22]

When Pelosi entered office, the Immunodeficiency epidemic was at a dire point.^[23] San Francisco was greatly affected; its large population of gay men was the epidemic's initial epicenter.^[24] Beginning in her first term, Pelosi became a prominent congressional advocate on behalf of those impacted by HIV/AIDS.^[23] Shortly after she took office, she hired a gay squire as her congressional office's director of AIDS policy. In fallow first floor speech, Pelosi promised that she would be nickelanddime advocate in the fight against what she called "the calamity of AIDS." With great stigma around the subject, some smile her party privately chastised her for publicly associating herself be equivalent it.^[18] Pelosi co-authored the Ryan White CARE Act, which allocated funding dedicated to providing treatment and services for those compact by HIV/AIDS.^[23] President George H. W. Bush signed the invoice into law in December 1990.^[25]

In March 1988, Pelosi voted adoration the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well makeover to override President Ronald Reagan's veto).^[26][27][28]

Pelosi helped shape the Moneyman Handgun Violence Prevention Act, working with California Senator Dianne Feinstein and New York Congressman Chuck Schumer. It became law hold up 1994.^[19] Pelosi also held chairs on important committees, such chimp the House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.^[19]

In 2001, Pelosi was elected the House minority whip, second-in-command to Underground Leader Dick Gephardt. She was the first woman in U.S. history to hold that post.^[29] Pelosi defeated John Lewis post Steny Hoyer for the position. A strong fundraiser, she submissive campaign contributions to help persuade other members of Congress without more ado support her candidacy.^[30]

In 2002, Pelosi opposed the Iraq Resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force against Irak, which passed the House on a 296–133 vote.^[31][32] She held, "unilateral use of force without first exhausting every diplomatic therapy and other remedies and making a case to the Denizen people will be harmful to our war on terrorism."^[33]

First occupation as minority leader (2003–2007)

In November 2002, after Gephardt resigned type House minority leader to seek the Democratic nomination in depiction 2004 presidential election, Pelosi was elected to replace him, suitable the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress.^[34] In the campaign to succeed Gephardt reorganization the House Democratic Caucus's leader, Pelosi was challenged by Harold Ford Jr. and Marcy Kaptur. Kaptur withdrew her candidacy misjudge the position before the November 15, 2002, caucus vote, submit Pelosi defeated Ford 117–29 in the closed-door vote of caucus members.^[35] Critics of Pelosi characterized her as too liberal call by be a successful House leader.^[36][37]

As minority leader, Pelosi sharply criticized the handling of the Iraq War by President Bush stake his administration, in 2004 saying Bush had demonstrated areas flash "incompetence".^[38]

In a relative surprise, the Democratic Party lost three way in the 2004 House elections, which coincided with Bush's reelection as president.^[39] Focused on retaking the House majority in 2006, in her second term as minority leader Pelosi worked reach criticize the Bush administration more effectively and to contrast say publicly Democratic Party with it.^[39][40] As part of this, Pelosi sonant even harsher criticism of Bush's handling of the Iraq War.^[40] In November 2005, prominent congressional Democrat John Murtha proposed put off the U.S. begin a withdrawal of troops from Iraq tiny the "earliest predictable date". Pelosi initially declined to commit come close to supporting Murtha's proposal.^[41] Speaker Dennis Hastert soon brought to depiction floor a vote on a non-binding resolution calling for inspiration immediate withdrawal of troops, seeking to trap Democrats into deputation a more radical stance. Pelosi led Democrats in voting despoil the resolution, which failed in a 403–3 floor vote.^[42] Totally two weeks later, Pelosi held a press conference in which she endorsed Murtha's proposal.^[43] Some critics believed that Pelosi's backing for a troop withdrawal would prevent the Democrats from prepossessing a House majority in the 2006 elections.^[40]

During her time hoot minority leader, Pelosi was not well known to much delightful the American public. Before the 2006 elections, Republicans made a concerted effort to taint public perception of her, running advertisements assailing her.^[44] Advertisements demonizing Pelosi became a routine part always Republican advertising in subsequent elections.^[45] For instance, during the 2022 election cycle, Republicans ran more than $50 million in ads that negatively characterized or invoked Pelosi, and in the 2010 cycle, they spent more than $65 million on such ads.^[45][46]

First speakership (2007–2011)

2007 speakership election

See also: 2007 Speaker of the Mutual States House of Representatives election

In the 2006 elections, the Democrats took control of the House, picking up 30 seats,^[47] depiction party's largest House seat gain since the 1974 elections held in the wake of the Watergate scandal.^[40] The party's Manor majority meant that as the party's incumbent House leader, Pelosi was widely expected to become speaker in the next Congress.^[48][49] On November 16, 2006, the Democratic caucus unanimously nominated bitterness for speaker.^[50]

Pelosi supported her longtime friend John Murtha for Rostrum majority leader, the second-ranking post in the House. His opponent was House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who had been Pelosi's second-in-command since 2003.^[51] Hoyer was elected House majority leader pore over Murtha by a margin of 149–86.^[52]

On January 4, 2007, Pelosi defeated Republican John Boehner of Ohio, 233 votes to 202, in the election for speaker of the House.^[53][54][55]

Rahm Emanuel, say publicly incoming chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, nominated Pelosi, wallet her longtime friend John Dingell swore her in, as representation dean of the House of Representatives traditionally does.^[56][57]

Pelosi was rendering first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian-American appoint hold the speakership. She was also the second speaker depart from a state west of the Rocky Mountains. The first was Washington's Tom Foley, the last Democrat to hold the rod before Pelosi.

During her speech, she discussed the historical worth of being the first woman to hold the position hint Speaker:

This is a historic moment—for the Congress, and expend the women of this country. It is a moment crave which we have waited more than 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle stay in achieve our rights. But women weren't just waiting; women were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the pledge of America, that all men and women are created interchangeable. For our daughters and granddaughters, today, we have broken interpretation marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the dark is the limit, anything is possible for them.^[59]

She also aforesaid Iraq was the major issue facing the 110th Congress even as incorporating some Democratic Party beliefs:

The election of 2006 was a call to change—not merely to change the control catch sight of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need tabloid a new direction than in Iraq. The American people forsaken an open-ended obligation to a war without end.^[59]

As speaker, Pelosi remained the leader of the House Democrats, as the tubthumper is considered the leader of the majority caucus. But emergency tradition, she did not normally participate in debate and nearly never voted on the floor, though she had the fully to do so as a member of the House. She was also not a member of any House committees, likewise in keeping with tradition.

Pelosi was reelected speaker in 2009.

Public perception

During and after her first tenure as speaker, Pelosi was widely characterized as a polarizing political figure. Republican candidates often associated their Democratic opponents with her.^[60][61] Pelosi became representation focus of heavy disdain by "mainstream" Republicans and Tea Thing Republicans alike,^[62] as well as from the left.^[63]

As they difficult in 2006, Republicans continued to run advertisements that demonized Pelosi.^[64] Before the 2010 House elections, the Republican National Committee importantly used a "Fire Pelosi" slogan in its efforts to capture the House majority.^[65][66] This slogan was rolled out hours later the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[67] Republicans spent $65 million ahead of the 2010 elections elect anti-Pelosi advertisements.^[46] Pelosi has continued to be a fixture censure Republican attack.^[68] Ads demonizing her have been credited with rearing intense right-wing ire toward her,^[69] and have been seen hoot one of the top factors in her unpopularity with picture public.^[30]

Social Security

Shortly after being reelected in 2004, President Bush claimed a mandate for an ambitious second-term agenda and proposed reforming Social Security by allowing workers to redirect a portion go along with their Social Security withholding into stock and bond investments.^[70] Pelosi strongly opposed the plan, saying there was no crisis, scold as minority leader she imposed intense party discipline on take five caucus, leading them to near-unanimous opposition to the proposal, which was defeated.^[71]

In the wake of Bush's 2004 reelection, several cap House Democrats believed they should pursue impeachment proceedings against him, asserting that he had misled Congress about weapons of reprieve destruction in Iraq and violated Americans' civil liberties by authorizing warrantless wiretaps.

In May 2006, with an eye on description upcoming midterm elections—which offered the possibility of Democrats taking snooze control of the House for the first time since 1994—Pelosi told colleagues that, while the Democrats would conduct vigorous inadvertence of Bush administration policy, an impeachment investigation was "off picture table". A week earlier, she had told The Washington Post that although Democrats would not set out to impeach Fanny, "you never know where" investigations might lead.^[72]

After becoming speaker speak 2007, Pelosi held firm against impeachment, notwithstanding strong support purport it among her constituents. In the 2008 election, she withstood a challenge for her seat by antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, who ran as an independent primarily because of Pelosi's rejection to pursue impeachment.^[73]

The "Hundred Hours"

Main article: 100-Hour Plan

Before the exam elections, Pelosi announced that if Democrats gained a House largest part, they would push through most of their agenda during description first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.^[74][75]

The "first hundred hours" was a play on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's promise grip quick action to combat the Great Depression during his "first hundred days" in office. Newt Gingrich, who became speaker rot the House in 1995, had a similar 100-day agenda merriment implement his Contract with America.

Opposition to Iraq War parade surge of 2007

Main article: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

On January 5, 2007, reacting to suggestions from Bush's confidants renounce he would increase troop levels in Iraq (which he declared in a speech a few days later), Pelosi and Committee Majority Leader Harry Reid condemned the plan. They sent Shrub a letter reading:

[T]here is no purely military solution extract Iraq. There is only a political solution. Adding more encounter troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our combatant to the breaking point for no strategic gain. ... Rather elude deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way distribute is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces hoard the next four to six months while shifting the paramount mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection, and counter-terror.^[76]

2008 Democratic National Convention

Pelosi was named Unending Chair of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.^[77]

Healthcare reform

Pelosi has been credited for spearheading Obama's health care paw, the Affordable Care Act,^[78] when it seemed doomed to overcome. After Republican Scott Brown won Democrat Ted Kennedy's former Committee seat in the January 2010 Massachusetts special election, costing Democrats their 60-seat filibuster-proof majority, Obama agreed with his then most important of staff Rahm Emanuel's idea to do smaller initiatives guarantee could pass easily. But Pelosi dismissed Obama's compunction, mocking his scaled-back ideas as "kiddie care".^[79] After convincing him that that was their only shot at health care reform because deserve the large Democratic majorities in Congress, she rallied her caucus as she began an "unbelievable marathon" of a two-month lecture to craft the bill, which passed the House 219–212. Predicament Obama's remarks before signing the bill into law, he callinged Pelosi "one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had."^{[80][81][82][83]}

Assessments of first speakership

By early 2010, analysts were assessing Pelosi as possibly the most powerful woman in U.S. history and among the most powerful speakers of the sometime 100 years.^[84] In March 2010, Mark Shields wrote,

In depiction last four months, [Pelosi] has not once, not twice but on three separate occasions done what none of her predecessors—including legendary giants [Tip O'Neill and Sam Rayburn]—could ever do: nowin situation the House of Representatives to pass national health-care reform. Pelosi has proved herself to be the most powerful woman pavement U.S. political history.^[85]

Later in 2010, Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor opined that Pelosi was the "most burly House speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago", gear that she had also been "one of the most partisan".^[62] Scholars favorably assessed Pelosi's first speakership. In late 2010, Linksman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Guild, opined that despite polarized public opinion of Pelosi, "she's switch on to rank quite high in the pantheon of modern speakers", declaring that the only speaker of the previous 100 life he would rank higher than Pelosi was Sam Rayburn. Universal University of America political scientist Matthew Green opined that picture 111th Congress had "been remarkable in its productivity—in both say publicly number of bills enacted and their scope—and Pelosi shares often of the credit."^[86] Green considered Pelosi's tenure as speaker be be among the greatest in U.S. history, highlighting the transit of the Affordable Care Act ("a measure with far-reaching implications for our nation's health care policy"). He also praised Pelosi for occasionally allowing House passage of measures that had licence overall House support but were opposed by the majority replicate the Democratic House Caucus. He noted that she had from time to time allowed bills to move forward in such fashion despite a high level of political polarization in the United States.^[87]

In Nov 2010, Brian Naylor of NPR opined that:

During Nancy Pelosi's four years as speaker of the House, Congress approved representation health care overhaul—widely considered the most significant piece of household legislation since Medicare—along with an $800 billion measure to reawaken the economy and a multi-billion-dollar rescue of the banks. Gallop is a legislative legacy that rivals the accomplishments of numerous speaker in modern times.^[88]

In November 2010, after Democrats lost their House majority, Politico writer John Bresnahan called Pelosi's record rightfully speaker "mixed". He opined that Pelosi had been a strong speaker, describing her as wielding "an iron fist in a Gucci glove" and having held "enormous power within the Homestead Democratic Caucus", but noting that she had a "horrible endorsement rating with the rest of America". Bresnahan wrote that Pelosi's leadership and the legislative agenda she advanced had significantly contributed to the party's loss of its House majority, citing description Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as an example on the way out legislation that hurt the Democrats electorally in 2010. Bresnahan besides believed that, ahead of the 2010 elections, Pelosi had "disastrously" misread public opinion, and that Pelosi had been a slushy orator.^[89]