How long pelosi speaker

For weeks, the year-old California Democrat had resisted opponents' demands that she step aside or restrict how long she'd serve, saying limits would make her a lame duck and sap her bargaining clout. But on Wednesday she relented and struck a deal that all but guarantees she'll be elected when the House votes on its new speaker on Jan. No, I don't think that's a lame duck," she told a group of reporters afterward. Democrats widely agreed that the pledge meant Pelosi had clinched a comeback to the post she held from until January , the last time her party ran the House and the first time the speaker was a woman.

Wednesday's accord gives Pelosi a clear path to becoming the most powerful Democrat in government and a leading role in confronting President Donald Trump during the upcoming presidential and congressional campaigns. It moves a year-old white woman to the cusp of steering next year's diverse crop of House Democrats, with its large number of female, minority and younger members. The agreement also ends what's been a distracting, harsh leadership fight among Democrats that has been waged since Election Day, when they gained at least 39 seats and grabbed House control for the next Congress.

It was their biggest gain of House seats since the post-Watergate election. Democrats have been hoping to train public attention on their agenda focusing on health care, jobs and wages, and building infrastructure projects. They also envision investigations of Trump, his presidential campaign and his administration. To line up support, Pelosi initially resorted to full-court lobbying by congressional allies, outside Democratic luminaries, and liberal and labor organizations.

She cut deals with individual lawmakers for committee assignments and roles leading legislative efforts. But in the end, she had to make concessions about her tenure to make sure she'll win a majority — likely votes — when the new House votes. Democrats are likely to have seats, meaning she could spare only 17 defections and still prevail if, as expected, Republicans all oppose her. After the Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, Pelosi was chosen to become the first woman to take the post of speaker of the House.

As the leader of the Democratic Party in the House under a Republican president, Pelosi was sometimes a divisive figure. A vocal critic of President George W. Bush 's stance on the war in Iraq, she advocated for the withdrawal of troops from the region. Pelosi found herself at the center of a controversy in when the CIA asserted that she had been made aware of its use of waterboarding of terrorism suspects—a technique that Pelosi had vocally opposed.

Pelosi denied the CIA's claims. Pelosi lobbied for the development of better-paying jobs, access to college education and affordable health care for all, and revised energy policy that focused on cleaner, more efficient domestic alternatives.

After the election of Barack Obama in , Pelosi was in a position to work with a president of the same party. She was instrumental in pushing for the health care reform legislation that became the Affordable Care Act Obamacare in , a position that earned her more criticism from the GOP. Pelosi remained House speaker until November , when Republicans gained control of the House and elected John Boehner to the role, relegating Pelosi to minority leader.

As the House's top Democrat, Pelosi endured criticism for her party's losses and challenges to her leadership.

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan sought to replace her as minority leader in but was unsuccessful. On February 7, , Pelosi delivered a marathon speech on the House floor to protest legislation that lacked protection for "Dreamers," the children of undocumented immigrants.

Taking advantage of the "magic-minute rule," which allows House leaders to talk for as long as they want, Pelosi read testimonies from Dreamers and recited Bible passages, in all standing for some eight hours and seven minutes, a House record dating back to at least The stalemate turned into a contentious day government shutdown, with the speaker drawing most of the president's ire for her control over congressional funding.

However, shortly after Pelosi effectively canceled the traditional State of the Union address, scheduled for January 29, President Trump agreed to temporarily reopen the government. Pelosi countered by scheduling a House vote on legislation to end the national emergency, ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Republicans to take a stand on the issue. The gambit paid off, as the Republican-controlled Senate also voted to overturn the national emergency, forcing Trump to issue the first veto of his presidency.

The speaker found herself increasingly at odds with the progressive wing of her party, in particular, a group of four freshmen congresswomen — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna S. They're four people and that's how many votes they got. Pelosi and the Squad soon reunited in their opposition to Trump, after the president unleashed a Twitter diatribe in which he said the four congresswomen of color should "go back" to their countries. In mid-July, the speaker led a vote to formally condemn Trump's words as racist, the first House rebuke of a president in more than years.

Pelosi was elected to a fourth term as speaker in January , with a vote. But no. Skip to Content. Facebook Twitter Email Reddit. By Lindsey McPherson. Not needed? Conor Lamb , Pa. Kurt Schrader , Ore. Ron Kind , Wis. Joe Cunningham , S. Jason Crow , Colo. Abigail Spanberger , Va.

Anthony Brindisi , N. Jeff Van Drew , N. Elissa Slotkin , Mich. Mikie Sherrill , N. Democrats not revealing their votes Andy Kim , N.