Thursday 17 November 2022 08:29 PM Pelosi, San Francisco liberal who met JFK at 17 and has been a bogeyman for ... trends now
Nancy Pelosi announced the end of her historic tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday, in a dramatic speech punctuated by a standing ovation from her colleagues.
The longest-serving Democratic Speaker and first woman to hold the gavel was elected to Congress from California in 1987 through a special election and has since been one of the most effective liberal politicians in US history.
She's met numerous world leaders, managed to keep control of an at-times fractured caucus, often times as the only woman at the table of power, and maintained control of the Democratic agenda through parts of the George W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.
Through it she's inspired both accolades and scorn from people on both sides of the aisle.
In her final stretch in leadership Pelosi saw herself become the top boogeyman for Republicans, with millions of dollars being spent on ads across the country - far from where she's actually on the ballot - to 'fire' her.
The surge in hostility has been blamed for the recent break-in of her San Francisco home by a man who said he wanted to 'break her kneecaps.' Pelosi was not home, but the intruder assaulted her husband with a hammer. He's still recovering from the October attack, Pelosi said as recently as Sunday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got a standing ovation on Thursday after announcing her intent to not run for leadership in the new Congress
She made history as the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2007 (pictured holding up the gavel in January 2007 while surrounded by family)
Pelosi was first elected in her San Francisco-area district in 1987 through a special election
In the years since, she's become a boogeyman for the right, inspiring millions of dollars' worth of campaign advertisements urging American voters to 'fire' her
She made recent headlines for defying the Biden administration's advice and forging ahead with a visit to Taiwan, aggravating China and temporarily inspiring fears of an armed conflict or invasion of the island.
Her second of two stretches with the Speaker's gavel saw her become an arch-rival of Donald Trump's. Their animosity toward one another was palpable through images and videos of their interactions, not to mention frequent verbal crossfire.
It reached a climax when Pelosi stood behind Trump after his State of the Union address and tore its pages in half.
She also presided over both of his impeachments.
The veteran legislator was 46 at the time of her election in the late 1980s, and a mother of five children with businessman Paul Pelosi.
During her speech in the chamber on Thursday afternoon, Pelosi marveled about her journey from homemaker to House Speaker. And yet, politics has been in her blood from the start.
She dominated the national conversation at the beginning of her second Speakership as a top foil to then-President Donald Trump (pictured ripping apart his 2020 State of the Union address)
