Pelosi to step down as House Democratic leader - Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — 

After months of speculation astir her future, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Thursday she volition not question to pb House Democrats for different word but volition stay successful Congress.

The determination — capping a 35-year vocation successful which Pelosi became the astir almighty pistillate subordinate of Congress successful U.S. past — followed her party’s constrictive nonaccomplishment of the enclosure successful past week’s midterm election.

Pelosi is besides abiding by a 2018 agreement with chap Democrats that she would measurement down from enactment by the extremity of 2022 to marque mode for a caller generation.

“For me, the hour’s travel for a caller procreation to pb the Democratic caucus that I truthful profoundly respect,” Pelosi said successful a House level speech.

President Biden, who spoke to Pelosi connected Thursday morning, aboriginal called her the “most consequential talker of the House of Representatives successful our history.”

“With her starring the way, you ne'er interest astir whether a measure volition pass,” Biden said. “If she says she has the votes, she has the votes. Every time.”

The nation’s archetypal and lone pistillate House speaker, Pelosi is stepping speech contempt the beardown urging of galore of her colleagues to remain.

She told a tiny radical of reporters successful an interrogation pursuing her remarks that her telephone had been “exploding” successful caller days with members telling her she indispensable tally for enactment again.

Under Pelosi’s stewardship this year, House Democrats defied expectations that the enactment would endure steep losses successful the midterm. Instead, Republicans gained lone a slim bulk of the House.

“She volition beryllium 1 of the giants of American history,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).

Had Pelosi wanted to stay arsenic House number leader, she apt could have, contempt the 2018 agreement. But she said she feels “balanced” by her determination and not sad.

Though galore Democrats had erstwhile voiced a tendency for Pelosi, 82, to manus implicit the reins to a younger procreation of lawmakers, her caller occurrence successful combating the Trump medication and past aiding the Biden medication won implicit galore of her critics.

She said successful the interrogation that if she could person done thing otherwise during her clip successful leadership, it would’ve been to triumph much elections to support Republicans, including Trump, retired of power.

Pelosi said past month’s attack connected her husband, Paul, was a origin successful her decision, though the incidental strengthened her resoluteness to stay successful Congress alternatively of having the other effect.

“I couldn’t springiness them that satisfaction,” Pelosi said.

The speaker’s hubby was assaulted with a hammer by an intruder who broke into their San Francisco location aiming to wounded her, constabulary said. She was successful Washington astatine the time. He’s expected to look a agelong recovery.

She said she has survivor’s guilt and that the onslaught was traumatic for her full family. “This happened successful our house,” she said. “It made our location a transgression scene.”

Democrats said her experience, cognition and fundraising skills volition proceed to beryllium helpful, adjacent if she is nary longer successful a enactment position.

But Pelosi downplayed immoderate advisory relation she mightiness play, saying arsenic person she seldom asked for proposal and won’t beryllium disappointed if her successors don’t either.

Joking astir the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, she said: “I person nary volition of being the mother-in-law successful the kitchen, saying: ‘My lad doesn’t similar the stuffing that way. This is the mode we marque it.’ [The caller House Democratic leaders] volition person their vision. They volition person their plan, and I deliberation that the authenticity of each of that volition beryllium respected.”

She said she would not service connected a committee and is reluctant to instrumentality to the time-consuming process of fundraising.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.) said Democrats should determination rapidly to regenerate her.

“Whoever replaces her — and we person immoderate large radical who could measurement up to the sheet — they’re going to person to commencement moving retired instantly truthful they’ll person the musculus and the vigor to bash what she’s done astir effortlessly,” Cleaver said.

“I’m not blessed astir it,” helium said of Pelosi’s stepping down. “But similar me, I deliberation everyone — the talker included — recognizes astatine immoderate constituent we person a constricted lifetime. And I deliberation you springiness each you tin and past you effort to unrecorded retired the remainder of your beingness arsenic conflict-free arsenic you can, and cipher tin blasted her for leaving.”

The contention to regenerate Pelosi had occurred softly down the scenes for months, but appeared to mostly settee itself soon aft Pelosi’s announcement. House Democrats volition clasp their interior enactment elections connected Nov. 30.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is favored to become the adjacent Democratic leader.

At 1 point, Pelosi’s apical lieutenants, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, 83, of Maryland and Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, 82, of South Carolina, had expressed involvement successful succeeding her, but some said Thursday they would basal speech for caller leadership.

“I volition beryllium supporting Jeffries for leader,” Clyburn said.

Pelosi said she has nary plans to endorse a successor, saying it is important to their legitimacy that they triumph the station connected their own.

“I don’t deliberation it’s up to maine to marque that anointment, though I astir apt cognize amended than anybody what that occupation requires,” she said.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) reportedly had involvement successful becoming the apical Democrat arsenic well, but has decided to absorption alternatively connected a imaginable Senate campaign. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s spot is up successful the 2024 cycle, though she hasn’t said whether she’ll discontinue astatine the extremity of her term.

“It’s going to beryllium precise hard to regenerate her, to person that benignant of leadership,” said retiring Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), who called Pelosi “probably the astir outspoken and almighty pistillate successful United States politics.”

The speaker’s gavel is apt to spell next to Californian and House Republican person Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), the front-runner to pb the enclosure adjacent year.

Pelosi said she won’t formally manus disconnected the gavel to McCarthy, if helium is elected, due to the fact that that handoff is from person to leader, and by past Democrats volition person elected her successor.

On Wednesday, Republicans gained the minimum 218 seats needed for a majority. The adjacent talker volition beryllium decided erstwhile the caller Congress convenes successful January.

Pelosi has been called 1 of the astir effectual House speakers successful history. She served arsenic talker nether each U.S. president since George W. Bush.

Pelosi muscled done the largest healthcare betterment successful generations, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which she considers her top achievement.

Passage of the Affordable Care Act “will beryllium the biggest happening that I’ve ever done successful Congress,” she said, “but the Inflation Reduction Act was very, precise indispensable and satisfying to me.”

She led the impeachment of President Trump twice; kept her caucus agreed to walk massive, multitrillion-dollar authorities to stabilize the system during the COVID-19 pandemic; and helped propulsion done past year’s $1-trillion infrastructure package.

Born into a salient Baltimore governmental family, Pelosi began her vocation arsenic an elected authoritative successful 1987.

Pelosi was known successful her aboriginal years successful Congress arsenic a fierce advocator for a beardown authorities effect to HIV/AIDS, a taxable that astatine the clip was either taboo oregon ignored, but was exceedingly important to cheery constituents backmost location successful San Francisco.

She was elected to enactment successful 2001, beating retired Hoyer of Maryland to go number whip. He remains her 2nd successful command. In 2003, she became number leader, the highest-ranking presumption among House Democrats erstwhile they don’t clasp a majority.

After Democrats took power of the enclosure successful 2006, Pelosi was selected arsenic the archetypal pistillate talker of the House successful January 2007.

Republicans person agelong seized connected Pelosi’s prominence, flooding the airwaves for years with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worthy of onslaught ads deriding her arsenic a “San Francisco liberal” and threatening that Democratic candidates would enactment her progressive politics.

In her San Francisco-based district, Pelosi consistently won reelection by ample margins. She is 1 of the Democratic Party’s astir prodigious fundraisers, raising $310 cardinal for Democrats this rhythm and $1.28 cardinal since entering enactment successful 2002.

Pelosi’s quality to get nether Republicans’ tegument was ne'er much evident than during the 4 years of the Trump administration. She gained a caller procreation of fans for her quality to rattle Trump.

Pelosi made past erstwhile she presided implicit the 2019 and 2021 impeachments of Trump, becoming the archetypal talker to preside implicit 2 impeachments.

Times unit writer Sarah D. Wire contributed to this report.