WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi knew this moment would come, even if others had their doubts — or worked to stop her.

Pelosi was elected Thursday as House speaker, the only woman who has held the office and now one of few elected officials who will be returning to it. The last time a speaker regained the gavel was more than a half-century ago.

The California Democrat has spent her political career being underestimated, only to prove the naysayers wrong. In this case, it was by winning back the Democratic majority and amassing the votes for the speaker’s job.

“None of us is indispensable,” Pelosi told The Associated Press on the campaign trail last fall, “but I do know that I’m very good at what I do.”

In accepting the gavel, Pelosi will give a nod to the new era of divided government with a pledge to “reach across the aisle in this chamber and across the divisions in this great nation,” according to her prepared remarks.

“The floor of this House must be America’s Town Hall: where the people will see our debates and where their voices will be heard and affect our decisions,” she says.

In previewing Democratic priorities, she talks about lowering health care costs, investing in green infrastructure and “restoring integrity” to government.

“We must be champions of the middle class and all those who aspire to it — because the middle class is the backbone of democracy,” she says.

Pelosi remains a highly polarizing figure, vilified by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal and a caricature of big government. But she is also a mother of five and a grandmother of nine who has shattered glass ceilings to become one of the most powerful politicians of the 21st century.

With President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans still controlling the Senate, Pelosi’s return to the speaker’s office to lead a Democratic majority with its biggest freshmen class since Watergate shakes up the dynamic in Washington even beyond the new era of divided government.

Pelosi has faced pressure from some incoming Democrats who have been willing to talk about the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Trump. Pelosi has called impeachment a “divisive activity,” and Democrats were cautious about mentioning the “I” word during the 2018 midterms for fear it would backfire politically.

But Pelosi did not shy away from it Thursday in an interview airing on NBC’s “Today” show.

“We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason,” she said, adding that she would wait for the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.

Only the House can begin impeachment proceedings. And while Justice Department guidelines suggest a sitting president can’t be indicted, Pelosi called that “an open discussion.”

“Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president,” she said.

Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing.

Pelosi is one of the few congressional leaders who seem to understand Trump, both being children from famous families now primed for deal-making. Trump appreciates strong characters, and, in perhaps a sign of respect, she is one of the few congressional leaders in Washington he has not given a nickname — though he has made her a frequent target.

A core group of rank-and-file Democrats has hungered for new leadership, saying it’s time for a new generation to take the helm. They tired of the Republican attack ads featuring Pelosi that are constantly run against them back home, and they worried she would be a drag on efforts to keep the majority in the next election. They enlisted some of the newcomers from the freshmen class to their ranks to try to stop her from regaining the gavel.

But one by one, Pelosi peeled away the skeptics, flipping “no” votes to the “yes” column, sometimes in a matter of days. Some were given lead positions on their legislative priorities, even a gavel of their own to chair special panels.

And Pelosi gave a little, too, promising, at 78, to serve no more than four years in leadership, making way for the next generation.

Pelosi won the speakership by a vote of 220 to Republican Kevin McCarthy’s 192 votes.</s>Nancy Pelosi is once again Washington's most powerful woman, poised to reclaim the US House speaker's gavel Thursday as opponent-in-chief to an impulsive and unpredictable president.

Keeping Donald Trump in check will be among the California Democrat's top challenges as she presides over the House of Representatives through the 2020 elections, when her party aims to dethrone the Republican commander in chief.

Pelosi is almost certain to win Thursday's House vote for speaker, a position she held for four years from 2007, when she made history as the first woman ever to rise to that post.

When outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan yields to the 78-year-old, she will again become the nation's third most senior official and seal her reputation as one of the great survivors in American politics.

In her first stint, Pelosi was a strong opposing force to Republican George W. Bush in the final two years of his presidency. Her role as a restraint on Trump would be similar.

But she will also need to keep the reins tight on her own caucus, some of whose newly empowered progressives are seeking swift punitive measures against Trump in the coming months.

She and the Democratic leadership would have the power to block Republican legislation, hamstringing large parts of Trump's agenda ranging from proposed new tax cuts to building a wall on the border with Mexico.

And Pelosi could make life for Trump much harder if she uses subpoena power to compel administration officials to testify before Congress or turn over key documents, or if she launches impeachment proceedings.

So far, she has spoken out against using such a powerful political cudgel against him, arguing that the explosive step would likely mobilize Republican voters eager to protect the president.

In her reprised role, she will have to thread a political needle, standing up to Trump when needed but also showing that her party is capable of working with the president to pass legislation.

Her immediate task: finding a way to help end a standoff over Trump's border wall demand that has led to a partial government shutdown now stretching to 13 days.

Pelosi and other congressional leaders met with Trump Wednesday but failed to secure a deal to end the impasse.

Three weeks earlier, at a remarkable Oval Office confrontation with cameras rolling, Pelosi showed she was not afraid to go toe to toe with Trump in a public forum when he appeared to belittle her effort to secure support for her speakership.

"Please don't characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats, who just won a big victory," a defiant Pelosi said.

Pelosi is unquestionably among the savviest political leaders of her generation. She shepherded then president Barack Obama's health law through the House to its contentious, historic passage in 2010.

Perhaps for that reason she is still seen by some as a liability eight years later, with Republicans presenting her as the ultimate liberal bogeywoman.

"Can you imagine Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House?" Trump asked a crowd at a Minnesota rally in October. "Don't do that to me!"

Pelosi's big comeback was no foregone conclusion. But she shrewdly navigated a simmering party power struggle that saw dozens of House Democrats and candidates signaling their desire for change at the top.

The internal resistance largely stems from Pelosi's broad unpopularity among voters. But in an interview published Wednesday, she pushed back at the notion that she is reviled.

"I don't necessarily feel hated. I feel respected," she told Elle magazine. "They wouldn't come after me if I were not effective."

At least in part, Pelosi's reputation is shaped by years of rightwing attacks. Conservatives depict her, the wife of an investment millionaire from California, as the embodiment of a leftist elite.

She is accused of everything from wanting to raise taxes for middle-class families to supporting a massive influx of illegal immigrants.

For three decades, Pelosi has represented California's 12th congressional district, which includes San Francisco, a stronghold of left-wing politics, counter-culture and gay rights regarded by many heartland conservatives as a true Gomorrah.

Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro was born in Baltimore to a political family with Italian roots. Both her father and brother were mayors of the East Coast port city.

After studying political science in Washington, she moved with her husband to San Francisco, where they raised five children.

First elected to the House in 1987, Pelosi rose through the ranks to lead the chamber's Democrats beginning in 2002.

Steeled by countless political struggles, Pelosi has largely managed to hold her diverse caucus together.

US politics requires donning "a suit of armor" and the ability "to take a punch," she has said.</s>WASHINGTON -- Nancy Pelosi knew this moment would come, even if others had their doubts -- or worked to stop her.

Pelosi was elected Thursday as House speaker, the only woman who has held the office and now one of few elected officials who have returned to it. The last time a speaker regained the gavel was more than a half-century ago.

The California Democrat has spent her political career being underestimated, only to prove the naysayers wrong. In this case, it was by winning back the Democratic majority and amassing the votes for the speaker's job.

"None of us is indispensable," Pelosi told The Associated Press while campaigning last fall, "but I do know that I'm very good at what I do."

In accepting the gavel, Pelosi gave nod to the new era of divided government with a pledge to "reach across the aisle in this chamber and across the divisions across our nation."

She said, "The floor of this House must be America's Town Hall: where the people will see our debates and where their voices will be heard and affect our decisions."

In outlining Democratic priorities, she talked about lowering health care costs, investing in green infrastructure and restoring "integrity to government."

"We must be champions of the middle class and all those who aspire to it -- because the middle class is the backbone of our democracy," she said.

Pelosi remains a highly polarizing figure, vilified by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal and a caricature of big government. But she is also a mother of five and a grandmother of nine who has shattered glass ceilings to become one of the most powerful politicians of the 21st century.

With President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans still controlling the Senate, Pelosi's return to the speaker's office to lead a Democratic majority with its biggest freshmen class since Watergate shakes up the dynamic in Washington even beyond the new era of divided government.

Pelosi has faced pressure from some incoming Democrats who have been willing to talk about the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Trump. Pelosi has called impeachment a "divisive activity," and Democrats were cautious about mentioning the "I" word during the 2018 midterms for fear it would backfire politically.

She took a measured approach to it in an interview airing Thursday on NBC's "Today" show.

"We shouldn't be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn't avoid impeachment for a political reason," she said, adding that she would wait for the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.

Only the House can begin impeachment proceedings. And while Justice Department guidelines suggest a sitting president can't be indicted, Pelosi called that "an open discussion."

"Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president," she said.

Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing.

Pelosi is one of the few congressional leaders who seem to understand Trump, both being children from famous families now primed for deal-making. Trump appreciates strong characters, and, in perhaps a sign of respect, she is one of the few congressional leaders in Washington he has not given a nickname -- though he has made her a frequent target.

A core group of rank-and-file Democrats has hungered for new leadership, saying it's time for a new generation to take the helm. They tired of the Republican attack ads featuring Pelosi that are constantly run against them back home, and they worried she would be a drag on efforts to keep the majority in the next election. They enlisted some of the newcomers from the freshmen class to their ranks to try to stop her from regaining the gavel.

But one by one, Pelosi peeled away the skeptics, flipping "no" votes to the "yes" column, sometimes in a matter of days. Some were given lead positions on their legislative priorities, even a gavel of their own to chair special panels.

And Pelosi gave a little, too, promising, at 78, to serve no more than four years in leadership, making way for the next generation.

Pelosi won the speakership by a vote of 220 to Republican Kevin McCarthy's 192 votes</s>Nancy Pelosi has indicated she thinks a sitting president can be indicted.

Speaking with the show ahead of being sworn in as House speaker for the second time on Thursday, Pelosi was asked whether special counsel Robert Mueller should abide by the Department of Justice’s guidance stating a sitting president can’t be indicted in his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“I do not think that that is conclusive,” Pelosi said. “No, I do not.”

When asked whether Mueller could indict President Trump over his campaign’s alleged connections with Russia, Pelosi seemed open to the possibility.

“I think that is an open discussion, in terms of the law,” she said.

Issued in 2000, the guidance from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel says, “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”

Pelosi noted that “It’s not the law,” while speaking with . “Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president of the United States,” she said.

Pelosi also did not rule out the possibility of Trump being impeached.

“We have to wait and see what happens with the Mueller report,” she said. “We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason.”</s>Popular

Drinking culture and American kids

On America's college campuses, there are epidemics we talk about and those we don't. When sexual assaults or fraternity hazing deaths make headlines, court cases follow and new rules are enacted, but less attention is paid to an underlying issue – binge drinking culture. CBSN Originals explores how drinking to excess is not only considered normal, but cool, and how for many young people "blacking out" is less a rarity than an every weekend occurrence – with grave consequences.</s>President Donald Trump on Thursday congratulated Democrat Nancy Pelosi on her election as House speaker and insisted on the need for a wall along the US-Mexico border.

In a surprising, albeit brief, appearance before reporters, his first of the year, Trump hailed the "tremendous achievement" of Pelosi, who at age 78 once again takes leadership of the House of Representatives, a post she held from 2007-2011.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) – Nancy Pelosi called for kids to join her as she was sworn into as House speaker. Dozens of youngsters gathered around Pelosi on the dais as she took the oath of office. She’s the first woman to hold the office, and now she’s also the first woman to return to it. Pelosi said: “I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America’s children.” Pelosi invited her grandchildren to come to the speaker’s podium, and then said other children in the chamber were welcome to join them.</s>Nancy Pelosi Presides Over Opening Of Most Diverse Congress Ever

House speaker Nancy Pelosi took the gavel for the second time, having already held the post from 2007 to 2011, and oversaw the swearing in of the most diverse group of representatives ever.</s>Nancy Pelosi victorious – why the California Democrat was reelected speaker of the House

(THE CONVERSATION) Despite some brash and not insignificant opposition, California’s Nancy Pelosi is returning to her previous role as speaker of the House.

She will preside over a chamber that is 77 percent male and a Democratic Caucus that is 62 percent male.

When the Democratic Caucus held their leadership election on Nov. 28, Pelosi won the nomination on a 203 to 32 vote, falling 15 votes shy of the 218 she would later need to win the speakership with all members voting.

When a vote was taken on the House floor on Jan. 3, she won by a vote of 220 to 192, with 15 Democrats voting for someone else or voting “present.” The close vote illustrated, once again, Pelosi’s skill in coalition-building and counting votes, but also that some Democrats – particularly new members and those in swing districts – are dissatisfied with her as the party’s standard bearer.

As a political scientist who focuses on gender and party discipline in the House of Representatives, I have studied Pelosi’s leadership and how she was able to hold it for so long.

It’s important to realize that Pelosi’s battle to win over wavering Democrats didn’t begin in November 2018. Rather, it stretches back to when she was first elected to leadership in 2001. Her ongoing ability to rally members of her own party illustrates why she has been among the most successful U.S. House speakers. It also suggests her leadership will help Democrats in Congress as they negotiate with President Trump and Senate Republicans, even if Pelosi remains unpopular in some Democratic members’ districts.

Pelosi’s rise to power and leadership are characterized by her intense partisanship, fundraising prowess and coalition-building within her own party.

Elected to the House in 1987, she won her first leadership race as party whip in October of 2001, defeating Steny Hoyer of Maryland by a vote of 118 to 95. As minority leader, Pelosi established a reputation as a pragmatist who enforced party discipline, counted votes, built coalitions – and raised enormous sums of money for her colleagues.

Fast forward to the 2006 elections – halfway through the second term of Republican President George W. Bush. Democrats gained 30 seats and majority party control. Taking the gavel at the start of the 110th Congress, Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House, presiding over an 84 percent male chamber.

Serving as speaker from 2007 to 2010, Pelosi benefited from – and expanded – the centralization of party leaders’ power that occurred during the previous 12 years of GOP control of the House.

As she stepped into the leadership role in 2007, Pelosi had more tools and prerogatives than her immediate Democratic predecessors, Tip O'Neill, Jim Wright and Tom Foley. That’s because under Republican speakers Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert, the shift of power away from committee chairs to party leaders – a change that had been taking place since the Democratic reforms of the 1970s – picked up speed. For example, Republicans instituted six-year term limits on committee chairs in 1995 and made clear that seniority was only one of many factors that a party leadership-led steering committee considered when selecting committee chairs.

During her first two terms as Speaker, Pelosi maximized her influence, setting the legislative agenda, pursuing partisan policy initiatives and fundraising for her colleagues. As I argue in my book on party discipline, Democratic committee chairs, grateful to return to the majority, were willing to cede power to her and other party leaders.

For the most part, Pelosi worked hard to build consensus within her party and shut Republicans out of the process. She frequently met with freshmen and more moderate and conservative Democrats to find common ground on the party agenda.

Under her leadership, House Democrats voted on average with the majority of their caucus 92 percent of the time in 2007 and 2008, setting a record for party cohesion. Pelosi routinely challenged President Bush and congressional Republicans, particularly on issues related to the war in Iraq.

When Obama was first elected in 2008, the Democrats gained unified party control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. Pelosi had a new challenge: building coalitions to pass the president’s ambitious agenda items – like health care and financial regulatory reform – rather than the easier job of simply attacking a Republican president’s proposals.

Pelosi’s role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act can hardly be overstated.

She brought Democrats together to start the process in the House before Obama became deeply involved. Three House committees marked up the bill which Pelosi then assembled. When key House Democrats threatened to withdraw their support over disagreements related to abortion funding, Pelosi appeased them and attracted enough votes to pass the bill. And when it seemed that the House and Senate would not be able to reconcile their versions after Senate Democrats lost their 60-vote filibuster-proof majority with the special election of Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who filled the seat of the late Democrat Ted Kennedy, Pelosi’s leadership was critical in crafting and executing a complicated legislative strategy that resulted in the bill that Obama ultimately signed into law.

House Democrats were largely unified on other votes as well. The average member voted with the majority 91 percent of the time in 2009 and 89 percent in 2010.

But Obama’s legislative successes came at a cost. During the 2010 midterm elections Democrats lost 64 seats. Republicans gained a 242 to 193 majority, their best showing since 1946.

Back in the minority, Pelosi lost the speakership but was reelected as Democratic leader in 2011, defeating North Carolina centrist Heath Shuler by a caucus vote of 150-43. In a sign of dissatisfaction, 19 Democrats did not support her in the vote on the House floor.

On Jan. 3, 2017, reeling from being completely shut out of power in Washington, all but four Democrats voted to reelect Pelosi as their leader for the eighth time. However, this show of Democratic unity on the House floor masked the uneasiness during the party’s internal contest between Pelosi and relatively unknown seven-term Democrat Tim Ryan of Ohio in late November. Pelosi prevailed, 134 to 63 – hardly a ringing endorsement.

As the 115th Congress got underway, Pelosi pledged to seek common ground with President-elect Trump on job creation, trade and support for working families. She also warned that “If there is an attempt to destroy the guarantee of Medicare, harm Medicaid, Social Security, or the Affordable Care Act, Democrats will stand our ground.”

Not surprisingly, with deep policy divides and intense competition between the parties, along with the difficulty of negotiating with President Trump, finding that common ground has been elusive. Without the votes to advance the Democrats’ agenda in the House, criticizing Republican policies and especially President Trump was the best way for Pelosi to get attention. It also helped Democrats win elections in 2018, as a majority of voters saw the 2018 election as a referendum on the president.

And so to Pelosi victorious. She brings three main strengths as the party’s leader: fundraising prowess, experience and skill in legislative bargaining and coalition building, and the ability to effectively challenge Trump with policy and procedural expertise. Pelosi showed her skill when confronting the president about the government shutdown during a highly publicized meeting on Dec. 11. Indeed, it was praise from Democrats for her strong performance that day that likely bolstered her bid for the speakership.

Her skill has also been display as Pelosi has won over skeptical Democrats on both her ideological left and right since the November elections. Pelosi has relied on the immense power and prerogatives of leadership that she herself helped to expand, winning over members one committee assignment and policy promise at a time. However, as part of the bargain, Pelosi ultimately agreed to curb the power of the speaker and limit her remaining time in leadership to four years. She also agreed to a series of proposals by the “problem solvers” caucus that would allow somewhat more opportunities for junior members to be involved in policymaking and large bipartisan coalitions to move legislation that party leaders had not put on the agenda.

Democrats’ internal leadership battle made clear that the party needs to develop a deeper bench of potential leaders with skills and experience to replace not only Pelosi but long-time #2 and #3 leaders Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn as well. However, it also shows that women leaders need to take extra steps to prove themselves in a male-dominated institution. After all, neither Hoyer nor Clyburn faced any opposition.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/nancy-pelosi-victorious-why-the-california-democrat-was-reelected-speaker-of-the-house-107333.</s>Nancy Pelosi reclaimed the gavel and called for bipartisanship Thursday as she became House speaker for the second time.

The California Democrat became most powerful woman in Washington and pledged to “reach across the aisle in this chamber and across the divisions in this great nation” as the nation’s capital remains under the cloud of an ongoing government shutdown and deep divides mar her own party.

“The floor of this House must be America's Town Hall: where the people will see our debates and where their voices will be heard and affect our decisions,” Pelosi added.

The promise to work with the opposition comes as Dems face intra-party rifts and a government shutdown nears the two week mark. Pelosi’s fractured party and Republicans remain in a stalemate over funding for President Trump’s border wall.

Pelosi made history as the first woman to rise to the position in 2007. She served as the nation’s third most senior official for four years spanning the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations and helped guide the Affordable Care Act through Congress.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the Democratic Caucus Chair, heaped praise on Pelosi as he nominated her as speaker.

“Nancy Pelosi is a woman of faith, a loving wife, a mother of five, a grandmother of nine, a sophisticated strategist, a legendary legislator, a voice for the voiceless, a defender of the disenfranchised a powerful,” he said.

Pelosi garnered 220 votes to win the speakership, with 15 Democrats either voting present or casting symbolic ballots against her. Democrats hold a 235-199 majority over Republicans.

The 78-year-old’s return to the speaker's office was far from guaranteed and she will face a new set of struggles during her second tenure in the post.

Rank-and-file Democrats joined freshman lawmakers in calling for new leadership, a sentiment echoed by voters, according to numerous polls.

Moderate Democrats, including Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) and other newly-elected lawmakers who flipped formerly red districts, followed up on campaign promises and opposed Pelosi’s speakership.

Rep. Kathleen Rice, a major Pelosi critic representing Nassau County, cast a symbolic vote for former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Rose voted for fellow veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Il.)

Pelosi, first elected in 1987 to represent a California district that includes San Francisco, was able to keep the skeptics at bay during a procedural vote in November by doling out lead positions on special panels and promising to follow through on their legislative priorities.

She also vowed to serve no more than four years in leadership, opening the door for a younger generation of Democrats to take control of the party in the near future.

Young progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — who became the youngest woman to serve in the House after being sworn in Thursday morning — have openly challenged several of Pelosi’s positions and could cause headaches for the centrist.

Adding to the complications, Pelosi’s rise to regain power comes at a crucial time for women in politics. The 116th Congress will count an unprecedented number of women as members after 100 female lawmakers won elections this past November.

GOP leader Kevin McCarthy's name was put into nomination by his party's caucus chair, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney. She said McCarthy knows "our rights come from God" and "government is not the source of our liberty.”

Pelosi has also split from some Dems who want to use their majority to bring impeachment proceedings against Trump.

The Speaker has called impeachment a "divisive activity,” but she did not shy away from it Thursday in an interview airing on NBC's “Today” show.

“We shouldn't be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn't avoid impeachment for a political reason," she said, adding that she would wait for the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.

Only the House can begin impeachment proceedings. And while Justice Department guidelines suggest a sitting president can't be indicted, Pelosi called that "an open discussion."

"Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer President," she said.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, balked at the prospect of Pelosi returning to power ahead of last years Midterms.

“Can you imagine Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House?" Trump asked a crowd at a Minnesota rally in October. "Don't do that to me!”
The 116th United States Congress, which contains a record number of women and minorities, is sworn in at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Democrat Nancy Pelosi becomes the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, the first being from 2007–2011.