Washington DC, US

Nancy Pelosi is one of the most influential women in the male-dominated US Congress and has been at the zenith of US politics for decades. However, Pelosi made the decision to step down as leader of the House Democrats, stating that "a new generation must lead the Democratic caucus." As reported by the BBC, she will remain in the House as a member, representing California's 12th district. Pelosi is the first woman in American history to hold the position, and she has been instrumental in furthering or rather obstructing the agendas of several presidents during her tenure. Her political instincts and acumen have given her the solid footing that she holds in US politics today. 

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WATCH | US: Nancy Pelosi to step down as House Democratic leader, says 'we must boldly move into future'

Nancy Pelosi's early political days

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In Baltimore, Maryland, on the East Coast, where her father was briefly mayor, Pelosi grew up in a political household as the youngest of seven children. She attended college in the neighbouring city of Washington, DC, where she later fell in love with and married banker, Paul Pelosi.

Pelosi started out as a homemaker when they initially relocated to Manhattan and San Francisco. Within a six-year span, she gave birth to five children: four daughters and a son.

When Jerry Brown, the governor of California, campaigned for president in 1976, she got active in politics and used her ties to her extended family to help him win the Maryland primary.

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Pelosi

In 1993, Pelosi observes President Bill Clinton sign an executive order. Photo credits: AP

She then ascended through the party's ranks, finally rising to the position of chair, and in 1987 she was elected to Congress. In 2001, she narrowly won the election to become the party's vote-counter and second-in-command in the House of Representatives. The next year, she was promoted to minority leader, the post held by the person in charge of the House opposition. 

Pelosi at the zenith of her politics

In 2003, Pelosi was one of the most prominent and vocal opponents of the US war in Iraq. When the Democrats took over the House for the first time in 12 years in 2006, this stance was validated and rewarded.

She was chosen by her party to be speaker of the House, making her the first woman in US history to hold that position.

The only position in Congress that is explicitly addressed in the US Constitution is Speaker of the House. It comes next in line after the vice president. With its own balcony overlooking the Washington Monument, its enormous office in the Capitol rotunda emphasises the status of the position.

Also read | Kevin McCarthy is Republican nominee for House speaker

The dominant party in the House essentially controls the whole legislative process. What legislation is studied and voted on is decided by the speaker, her deputy(s), and the chair(s) of the committee. They pick the topics for discussion and the order in which they will be discussed.

Before the Democratic Party lost control of the lower chamber of Congress, Pelosi was in the position for four years. Despite the loss, Pelosi overcame a number of obstacles within her own party to retake the gavel.

Confronting Donald Trump and more

As speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, a longstanding leader of the Democrats in Washington, was a great strategist who managed America's severe party split while reprimanding an uncontrollable president and guiding historic legislation.

Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi ripping up Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union speech. Photo credits: AP

When the US Capitol was attacked in 2021, fans of then-president Donald Trump destroyed her office and yelled "Where's Nancy?" while they vandalised the buildings of Congress.

Fearing the consequences of overreach, Pelosi originally rejected Democratic efforts to remove Trump from office. However, she felt forced to act after he was seen blocking US help to Ukraine while pushing a conspiracy idea on Biden.

Also read | Donald Trump calls Nancy Pelosi an 'animal' for impeaching him twice

Pelosi's relationship with Trump was damaged by the impeachment in 2019, and when Trump gave his State of the Union address later in the House chamber, Pelosi coolly ripped apart his remarks, completely altering the evening's storyline.

She most recently infuriated China by visiting Taiwan as the highest-ranking US legislator to do so in the previous 25 years. China, which claims ownership of the island, retaliated against the US following her visit by conducting military exercises and cutting off diplomatic ties.

Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan. Photo credits: AP

In the latter stages of her lengthy political career, the trip may have been an effort to enhance her political legacy, according to Anthony Zurcher of the BBC.

As she has put it, it was a historic journey to finish her term and may have been her way of leaving the stage with a bang by putting down a marker for democracy over despotism.

(With inputs from agencies)