Pelosi stepping down from House Democratic leadership - ABC News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from House Democratic enactment but volition stay successful Congress.

Pelosi, 82, made the announcement successful a melodramatic level code connected Thursday aft gaveling the House into session, receiving a hearty lasting ovation from her colleagues.

"With large assurance successful our caucus, I volition not question reelection to Democratic enactment successful the adjacent Congress," Pelosi said, noting she volition proceed to correspond her California district, arsenic she has for 35 years. "The hr has travel for a caller procreation to pb the Democratic caucus that I truthful profoundly respect."

The archetypal pistillate to clasp House speakership -- Pelosi is the Democratic Party's longest-serving House leader. Her determination volition person a large interaction connected Democrats successful their caller presumption arsenic House minority.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrives to the Capitol successful Washington, D.C, Nov. 17, 2022.

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock

Pelosi's chap California delegation sat successful the beforehand of the enclosure arsenic the announcement was made.

The imaginable adjacent procreation of House Democratic leaders -- Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Pete Aguilar, Katherine Clark -- arsenic good arsenic Pelosi's existent squad of Reps. James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer -- each sat unneurotic successful the chamber, and were joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Not galore Republicans were contiguous to perceive her code successful person. Notably absent was House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who celebrated his party's power of the House Wednesday nighttime by telling Fox News' Sean Hannity: "We person fired Nancy Pelosi."

Pelosi began her code with an ode to the Capitol itself, describing however she saw it for the archetypal clip erstwhile she was young arsenic she accompanied her father, the precocious Maryland Rep. Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., to his swearing-ceremony.

"This is the astir beauteous gathering successful the satellite due to the fact that of what it represents," Pelosi said. "The Capitol is simply a temple of our democracy, of our Constitution, of our highest ideals."

"When I archetypal came to the level astatine 6 years old, ne'er would I person thought that I would spell from homemaker to House speaker," she said.

Pelosi reflected connected her clip moving with "three presidents": George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden -- notably not mentioning erstwhile President Donald Trump.

She celebrated the summation successful diverseness of the caucus implicit the years, noting erstwhile she came to Congress successful the 1990s determination were conscionable 12 Democratic women successful the group. Today, she said, there's much than 90.

"And we privation more," she said, which received different lasting ovation.

In this Dec. 18, 2019 record photograph Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wields the gavel arsenic she presides implicit the House of Representatives approving 2 counts of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump successful the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol successful Washington.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters, FILE

Pelosi’s agelong been a fundraising powerhouse --- her House Majority PAC raised astir $160 cardinal this rhythm for Democratic candidates -- and is known for her legislative prowess ushering bills similar the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act done Congress.

That meant she was a predominant people of the Republican Party. McCarthy erstwhile joked astir wanting to deed Pelosi with the oversized speaker’s gavel, but much sinister comments astir Pelosi person dispersed among conservatives. Before entering Congress, Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene had expressed enactment for posts astir executing salient Democrats, including Pelosi.

Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hammil said Wednesday she planned to marque remarks connected her governmental future, doing truthful conscionable hours aft ABC News projected that Republicans had officially won bulk power successful the U.S. House, ending a four-year Democratic bulk contempt a beardown midterm showing for the party.

Pelosi delivered a informing successful her code that the Jan. 6 insurrection showed the ideology is inactive fragile, and truthful "must beryllium everlastingly defended."

And contempt losing the House, Pelosi said the midterm elections showed Americans "resoundingly rejected unit and insurrection, and successful doing so, gave impervious done the nighttime that our emblem was inactive there."

"And present we beryllium to the American radical our precise champion to present connected their faith, to everlastingly scope for the much cleanable union, the glorious skyline that our founders promised," she said.

A root told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that Pelosi took location 2 antithetic versions of level speeches Wednesday night. As she arrived astatine the Capitol Thursday morning, Pelosi, wearing achromatic and flanked by her apical aides, did not respond to questions astir her governmental future.

Pelosi had said the onslaught connected her hubby Paul would interaction her determination to enactment successful House enactment post-midterms. On Thursday, she took a infinitesimal to convey and praise her hubby arsenic "my beloved spouse successful beingness and my pillar of support."

Prior to the attack, respective members person called for a younger procreation of Democratic leadership. The apical 3 Democrats successful the House are each successful their 80s.

While it's chartless who precisely volition win Pelosi, she addressed the adjacent procreation of leaders connected Thursday, saying she's "grateful that truthful galore are acceptable and consenting to enarthrosis this awesome responsibility."

Among the apical contenders for the jobs are Jeffries of New York for speaker, Clark of Massachusetts for number whip and California's Pete Aguilar is expected to beryllium the caucus chair.

The existent 2 different apical leaders successful the Democratic caucus, Hoyer and Clyburn, are stepping speech from their roles. The enactment elections are scheduled for the extremity of November.

President Joe Biden released a lengthy connection conscionable aft the code concluded chronicling Pelosi's vocation with praise and commending her for her "dignity."

"Because of Nancy Pelosi, the lives of millions and millions of Americans are better," Biden said, "even successful districts represented by Republicans who voted against her bills and excessively often vilify her."

"History volition enactment she is the astir consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives successful our history," the president said. "There are countless examples of however she embodies the work of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and state to guarantee our ideology delivers and remains a beacon to the world."