Nancy Pelosi addresses the House of Representatives in Washington, Thursday November 17, 2022 (AFP / OLIVIER DOULIERY)
Nancy Pelosi, a major figure in American politics, announced Thursday to renounce the post of leader of the Democrats in the future House of Representatives, where the Republicans obtained the majority.
“I will not run for the Democratic leadership of the next Congress,” said the current Speaker of the House, 82, during a speech in the hemicycle where she said she wanted to make way for “a new generation”.
President Joe Biden immediately paid tribute to her, hailing her as a “staunch defender of democracy”.
To applause, she recalled memories of her 35 years in the House, which she saw evolve to be “more representative of our beautiful nation”.
The Capitol, seat of the US Congress, on November 14, 2022 in Washington (AFP / Mandel NGAN)
Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to occupy the lower house roost, also spoke about darker times, like the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“American democracy is majestic, but it is fragile,” she warned.
Nancy Pelosi maintained the suspense over her withdrawal until the end, taking home two different versions of her speech. She will continue to sit in the House, as a simple elected from California.
“Nancy Pelosi will be remembered as one of the most accomplished parliamentarians in American history — pushing boundaries, opening up opportunities and working to serve Americans,” former Democratic President Barack Obama tweeted.
“Thank you for everything you have done for America,” said Hakeem Jeffries, elected from New York and tipped to succeed him as head of the House Democrats.
The House greeted the end of his speech with a long ovation, the Democrats standing, many Republicans absent. “The Pelosi era is over. Good riddance!” Tweeted Colorado Trumpist Lauren Boebert.
– Offensive –
The third figure in the American state, she is known for her role as the first opponent of Donald Trump, whom she fiercely fought when he occupied the White House.
A tactician gifted with an unparalleled political flair, she has often made rain and shine on Capitol Hill, where she was elected “speaker” in 2007.
Nancy Pelosi on October 17, 2022 in Menlo Park, Calif. (POOL / JOSH EDELSON)
In recent months, it is his commitment to Taiwan that has caused a lot of talk: his visit this summer to the island claimed by the Chinese authorities had angered Beijing.
At the end of October, her husband Paul was attacked in the middle of the night at their home in California by a man armed with a hammer. He was actually looking for Nancy Pelosi, whom he accused of lying and to whom he intended to “break the kneecaps”.
The drama marked the Democrat, who said she was “traumatized”.
At the beginning of her speech, she also had a word for her husband, “beloved partner” and “support”.
Just before the Nov. 8 election, she said the attack would influence her decision whether or not to retire if the Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives.
The leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, November 15, 2022 in Washington (AFP / Mandel NGAN)
This is what happened on Wednesday evening, after more than a week of a suspense count as the complex American electoral system knows how to create the conditions.
In the end, the Republicans grabbed a majority of at least 218 seats which, although very narrow, will give them blocking power over Joe Biden’s policy until 2024.
– Split –
The Congress is therefore divided, the Democrats having managed to retain control of the Senate.
President Joe Biden, November 9, 2022 in Washington (AFP / Mandel NGAN)
Even with a slim majority in the House, Republicans will have substantial inspection power, which they have promised to use for a host of investigations into Joe Biden’s handling of the pandemic or the withdrawal of Afghanistan.
They did not waste a second to implement it.
On Thursday morning, conservatives in the lower house announced plans to investigate “national security” risks posed by Joe Biden’s family’s overseas business dealings. His son Hunter is accused of using his surname to do business in Ukraine and China.
Deprived of a Congress which had been entirely its own for two years, the party of the Democratic president will no longer be able to vote on major projects. But neither does the other side.
The future of Republican projects — unraveling certain education reforms, questioning aid to Ukraine, legislating abortion at the federal level, etc. — thus appears more than uncertain.