US Speaker Nancy Pelosi Steps Down From Leadership

Washington: A day after Republicans secured a slight majority in the recently concluded midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives will step down from her position.

Pelosi said that she will step down in January when Republicans take control of the chamber.

Addressing the floor, the 82-year-old Pelosi said, “I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress. The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus.”

Pelosi will continue to be a member of the House — she was elected in the just-concluded midterm election — but will guide and mentor others to the leadership roles, including Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the minority leader since Democrats narrowly lost the chamber.

Praising Democrats’ performance in the midterm elections, Pelosi said, “Last week, the American people spoke and their voices were raised in defense of liberty, of the rule of law and of democracy itself. The people stood in the breach and repelled the assault on democracy.”

In her speech, she called the House chamber “sacred ground” and the “heart of American democracy.” She remembered visiting the Capitol for the first time as a child when her father was sworn in as a House member. She said that the chamber represented “the people’s house” and had done “the people’s work.”

Pelosi added that she would continue to represent her San Francisco district in the next Congress.