The 85-year-old California Democrat’s departure will mark the end of an era in Congress. In 2007, Pelosi became the first woman elected to serve as U.S. House speaker.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In a video released this morning, California representative Nancy Pelosi, the first woman elected speaker of the House, tells her San Francisco constituents that she will not be seeking reelection in Congress.
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NANCY PELOSI: We have always led the way, and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold here.
MARTÍNEZ: Pelosi, a Democrat, was first elected 38 years ago and served two separate times as speaker. Senior political correspondent Scott Shafer from member station KQED in San Francisco has followed her career for decades. Scott, how did she ultimately get back on track to become speaker two decades later? I mean, you followed her from the very, very start.
SCOTT SHAFER, BYLINE: Yeah. Well, I came to San Francisco a few years before she ran for Congress, and there, those vintage images in that video you just played were very poignant. They referenced the AIDS epidemic, the 1989 earthquake, ribbon-cuttings for major transit projects and more. And, you know, she recalled that the slogan for her first campaign was a voice that will be heard, which certainly turned out to be true. You know, when she got elected, Pelosi was not really well-known outside of Democratic circles. But she grew up in a political family, and later, she chaired the California Democratic Party, and then she raised money for Democratic Senate candidates nationwide. She knew a lot of important people in the party. So when she got to Washington, she could quickly cultivate relationships that really served her well later on.
MARTÍNEZ: What would you say are some of her biggest accomplishments?
SHAFER: Well, when she got to Washington during the Reagan administration, her district was ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. She made increasing federal funding a top priority, and that made a huge difference.
Second, I’d say, the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. It really would not have passed in 2010 without Pelosi’s shoulder to the wheel. She had to overcome resistance, not just from Republicans, but also from reluctant Democrats. Some of them wanted a less sweeping bill, but she made it happen.
And then third, I’d say her emphasis on helping to make her party more diverse, encouraging, especially more women, women of color to get involved in politics. You know, there’s nearly five times as many Democratic women in the House as when Pelosi arrived, and the number of Democratic women of color has grown more than 10 times over that span. She had a lot to do with that.
MARTÍNEZ: Nancy Pelosi’s known as a bit of a partisan warrior, but did she ever set that aside?
SHAFER: She did. You know, in 2008, the final year of the George W. Bush administration, the economy was collapsing. She and Bush weren’t particularly close, but she agreed to round up enough votes to stabilize financial institutions. Critics called it a Wall Street bailout. But, you know, that was a big example of her ability to reach across the aisle. In fact, when her official portrait was unveiled in 2022, Republican – former Republican speaker John Boehner noted that Pelosi would put nation over party and said that she was the most effective speaker of either party.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, today’s announcement comes just days after voters passed Proposition 50 that’s going to help Democrats win more seats in the midterm elections. That’s here in California where I am – where you – where both of us are, actually.
SHAFER: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: What do you make of the timing? Does one thing have to do with the other?
SHAFER: Well, I talked to her on Election Day, and she said she was hoping for a big Prop 50 win and said right after that, she would turn to thinking about her future. Of course, Pelosi very much wants Democrats to retake the House, and Prop 50’s going help with that. She sees that as really essential to putting a check on what she sees as President Trump’s excessive use of force and use of executive power. And so with Prop 50’s landslide win, it’s a chance for Pelosi to take a victory lap and say it’s time to let another generation lead.
MARTÍNEZ: That’s Scott Shafer from member station KQED. Scott, thanks.
SHAFER: You’re welcome.
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