Nancy Pelosi plans to stay in Congress; speakership remains in question
House Speaker Pelosi is not running for reelection, according to a spokesperson. Pelosi has also said she is not interested in another term as the leader of the House Democratic Caucus.
She said in a statement issued Tuesday that she would continue working on her constituents’ behalf and on critical issues in the coming months.
“I will continue to work to move our country forward, strengthen the middle class and reduce income inequality, and will continue to listen to and empower the voices of my progressive caucus members on the Hill,” she said. “After all, the success of the party is the success of the American people. That is why we are all in this together.”
In her statement, Pelosi said she was grateful to the Democratic National Committee for giving her the opportunity to lead the party.
Pelosi served as House Democratic leader during the early years of the Obama presidency, when the party focused largely on defending against an incumbent president whom she said was out of touch with average Americans.
As she ascended in the ranks during the Obama administration, Pelosi’s standing began to decline. She was booed in June 2014 on Capitol Hill after she voted for the GOP-backed debt ceiling legislation. She also became a lightning rod for criticism when she voted for the Obama health law and the 2010 health care reform law.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. speaks to reporters outside the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence at the Capitol.
But the criticism was lessened with her rise as chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, a job that she holds as minority leader. In 2012, when she became speaker of the House, she helped shepherd through the Affordable Health Care Act that expanded coverage, raised taxes on the wealthy and gave Americans some protection against a high risk of bankruptcy.
She became the face of the party, and the public grew more comfortable with Democrats when their party came to rely more
