Speaker Nancy Pelosi has arrived at a crossroads. https://t.co/fpuJ58bihJ
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) November 11, 2022
The morning after the midterm election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slipped on a sterling silver whistle given to her by her husband, who was attacked last month by an intruder at their San Francisco home.
The whistle was similar to those worn by coaches or drill sergeants, and she wore it at her office after a long night of watching election returns. Staff members were assembled for a pizza party lunch in the same conference room where she has led her party through some of the most tumultuous times at the U.S. Capitol.
She blew the whistle as she entered, and the staff cheered. With the races close and many votes still being counted, it was time for the waiting to begin. The final results will determine which party controls the House — and Pelosi’s own future…
Many expect her to retire rather than lead Democrats in a shrunken minority. The attack on her husband, Paul, made her exit seem even more likely. He was assaulted less than two weeks before the election, when a man invaded their home searching for his wife.
And yet after rising to become perhaps the most consequential House speaker in decades, Pelosi is not one to simply step aside. When asked ahead of the election if she had decided to stay or go, she said only that the attack on her spouse of nearly 60 years would be a factor…
Pelosi’s rise instantly established her place in history — not only as the first female speaker, but as the only speaker in 70 years to have won the office twice, in 2007 and again in 2019.
But it’s what Pelosi did with the gavel — steering the Affordable Care Act into law with Barack Obama and twice impeaching Donald Trump — that seals her legacy as one of the strongest political figures in America.
Open Thread: Nancy Pelosi, Still StandingPost + Comments (144)