After 20 years at the helm of the House Democratic caucus, Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from leadership after this term, she said in a speech on the House floor Thursday, November 17. She will seek to remain in Congress, however.
“With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi said. “For me the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect, and I’m grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.”
It’s not entirely surprising that Pelosi is stepping aside; she agreed to a term limit in 2018 when she negotiated another swing as Speaker. But in the last year, it was less clear whether the storied leader would, in fact, abdicate her position. In October, her spokesperson told Vanity Fair she was on a “mission” to protect the majority—not a “shift.” Pelosi, for her part, did little to tamp down on the rumblings. In an emotional interview with CNN this month, she said the violent attack on her husband Paul would play a role in her decision. After Democrats overperformed expectations in the House, Pelosi told CNN’s Dana Bash that members of her caucus had asked her to “consider” running for leadership again. Democrats still lost the majority, but only narrowly.
On Thursday, in a speech historian Jon Meacham reportedly helped craft, Pelosi reflected on her journey from a 6-year-old child of a lawmaker—her father former Maryland representative Thomas D’Alessandro Jr.—who visited the Capitol in awe, to leading the House under several presidents and overseeing monumental legislation, from the Affordable Care Act to the environmental provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
“When I first came to the floor at six years old, never would I have thought that someday I would go from homemaker to House Speaker,” she said.
New York representative Hakeem Jeffries, who currently serves as the House Democratic Caucus chair, has long been seen as Pelosi’s heir apparent. California representative Adam Schiff, who had floated a run for leader himself, is now said to be eyeing a Senate seat. “Adam had really enjoyed speaking with his colleagues about House leadership, but the overwhelming urge and sense of purpose and service was towards the Senate run,” a source familiar with his plans said. “He’s doing what he feels really strongly is best for California.”
Massachusetts’ Katherine Clark, currently the assistant Speaker, who has a good reputation within the Democratic caucus, is rumored to be in line as Jeffries’ number two should he ascend to the top spot. Head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pramila Jayapal has also signaled an interest in leadership. As recently as Wednesday, Jayapal didn’t dismiss the possibility. “It is about when and where I can have the most impact,” she said. “We will see.”
Meanwhile, Pelosi’s top two lieutenants—House majority leader Steny Hoyer, 83, and House majority whip Jim Clyburn, 82—have yet to lay out their plans. Several have raised doubts that Hoyer and Clyburn could survive the wave of change Pelosi just set off. Should they not move aside, the jockeying could certainly get messy.
Madeleine Dean, Joyce Beatty, Debbie Dingell, and Ted Lieu have thrown their hats in the ring for the vice chair position. Congressman Pete Aguilar is seen as a leading contender for another leadership position and Congressman Joe Neguse has signaled his desire to replace Jeffries as Caucus chair. And, after New York representative Sean Patrick Maloney lost his bid for reelection last week, two Democrats—Ami Bera and Tony Cárdenas—have thrown their hats in the ring to replace him as House Democrats’ campaign arm.
“A new day is dawning on the horizon and I look forward, always forward, to the unfolding story of our nation, a story of light and love, of patriotism and progress of many becoming one and always an unfinished mission to make the dreams of today, the reality of tomorrow,” Pelosi concluded.
This post was originally published in Vanity Fair.
