182 Facts About Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Patricia Pelosi is an American politician who was the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.

Nancy Pelosi graduated from Trinity College, Washington, in 1962 and married businessman Paul Pelosi the next year; the two had met while both were students.

Nancy Pelosi steadily rose through the ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected House minority whip in 2001 and elevated to House minority leader a year later, becoming the first woman to hold each of those positions in either chamber of Congress.

Until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021, Nancy Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the presidential line of succession in US history, as the speaker of the House is second in the line of succession.

Nancy Pelosi lost the speakership after the Republican Party retook the majority in the 2010 midterm elections, but she retained her role as leader of the House Democrats and became House minority leader for a second time.

Nancy Pelosi participated in the passage of the Biden administration's landmark bills, including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and the Respect for Marriage Act.

Nancy Pelosi was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to an Italian-American family.

Nancy Pelosi was the only daughter and the youngest of six children of Annunciata M "Nancy" D'Alesandro and Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.

Nancy Pelosi's mother was born in Fornelli, Isernia, Molise, in Southern Italy, and emigrated to the US in 1912; her father traced his Italian ancestry to Genoa, Venice and Abruzzo.

When Nancy Pelosi was born, her father was a Democratic congressman from Maryland.

Nancy Pelosi's mother was active in politics, organizing Democratic women and teaching her daughter political skills.

In 1958, Nancy Pelosi graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore.

Nancy Pelosi interned for Senator Daniel Brewster in the 1960s alongside future House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Nancy Pelosi was elected as party chair for Northern California in 1977, and four years later was selected to head the California Democratic Party, which she led until 1983.

Subsequently, Nancy Pelosi served as the San Francisco Democratic National Convention Host Committee chairwoman in 1984, and then as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee finance chair from 1985 to 1986.

Nancy Pelosi was then reelected to two more terms in her own right.

Nancy Pelosi wanted Pelosi to succeed her, guaranteeing Pelosi the support of the Burtons' contacts.

Nancy Pelosi won the special election to succeed her, defeating Democratic San Francisco supervisor Harry Britt on April 7,1987, and Republican Harriet Ross in a June 2 runoff.

Nancy Pelosi had held many campaign events, amassed a large number of campaign volunteers, and fundraised prolifically for her campaign.

Nancy Pelosi has continued to represent approximately the same area of San Francisco for her entire congressional career, despite the boundaries shifting marginally in decennial post-reapportionment redistrictings.

Nancy Pelosi has been reelected to the House 18 times without any substantive opposition.

Unlike in her 1987 campaign, Nancy Pelosi has not participated in candidates' debates in her reelection campaigns.

At the time that Nancy Pelosi entered office, there were only 23 women in the House.

When Nancy Pelosi entered office, the AIDS epidemic was at a dire point.

In March 1988, Nancy Pelosi voted for the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.

Nancy Pelosi helped shape the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, working with California Senator Dianne Feinstein and New York Congressman Chuck Schumer.

Nancy Pelosi held chairs on important committees, such as the House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.

Nancy Pelosi was the first woman in US history to hold that post.

Nancy Pelosi defeated John Lewis and Steny Hoyer for the position.

In November 2002, after Gephardt resigned as House minority leader to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election, Nancy Pelosi was elected to replace him, becoming the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress.

Critics of Nancy Pelosi characterized her as too liberal to be a successful House leader.

Roughly two weeks later, Nancy Pelosi held a press conference in which she endorsed Murtha's proposal.

Advertisements demonizing Nancy Pelosi became a routine part of Republican advertising in subsequent elections.

The party's House majority meant that as the party's incumbent House leader, Nancy Pelosi was widely expected to become speaker in the next Congress.

Nancy Pelosi supported her longtime friend John Murtha for House majority leader, the second-ranking post in the House.

Nancy Pelosi's competitor was House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who had been Pelosi's second-in-command since 2003.

On January 4,2007, Nancy Pelosi defeated Republican John Boehner of Ohio, 233 votes to 202, in the election for speaker of the House.

Nancy Pelosi was the first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian-American to hold the speakership.

Nancy Pelosi was the second speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains.

Nancy Pelosi said Iraq was the major issue facing the 110th Congress while incorporating some Democratic Party beliefs:.

Nancy Pelosi was not a member of any House committees, in keeping with tradition.

Nancy Pelosi became the focus of heavy disdain by "mainstream" Republicans and Tea Party Republicans alike, as well as from the left.

Nancy Pelosi has continued to be a fixture of Republican attack.

Nancy Pelosi strongly opposed the plan, saying there was no crisis, and as minority leader she imposed intense party discipline on her caucus, leading them to near-unanimous opposition to the proposal, which was defeated.

Nancy Pelosi was named Permanent Chair of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Nancy Pelosi has been credited for spearheading Obama's health care law, the Affordable Care Act, when it seemed doomed to defeat.

Nancy Pelosi has proved herself to be the most powerful woman in US political history.

Later in 2010, Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor opined that Nancy Pelosi was the "most powerful House speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago", adding that she had been "one of the most partisan".

In late 2010, Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, opined that despite polarized public opinion of Nancy Pelosi, "she's going to rank quite high in the pantheon of modern speakers", declaring that the only speaker of the previous 100 years he would rank higher than Nancy Pelosi was Sam Rayburn.

Nancy Pelosi praised Pelosi for occasionally allowing House passage of measures that had majority overall House support but were opposed by the majority of the Democratic House Caucus.

Nancy Pelosi noted that she had occasionally allowed bills to move forward in such fashion despite a high level of political polarization in the United States.

Bresnahan believed that, ahead of the 2010 elections, Nancy Pelosi had "disastrously" misread public opinion, and that Nancy Pelosi had been a poor orator.

Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution opined in 2018 that Nancy Pelosi had been the "strongest and most effective speaker of modern times" during her first speakership.

Nancy Pelosi's reign was successful because she understood the will of her caucus rather than bending it to hers.

Nancy Pelosi denied the allegations and called the report "a right-wing smear".

On November 14,2012, Nancy Pelosi announced that she intended to remain Democratic leader.

Nancy Pelosi was one of many lawmakers who called for the Washington Redskins to change their name.

Nancy Pelosi said it was time for the US Patent and Trademark Office to step in and tell the National Football League that it could not keep its registered trademark for the "Redskins", a racial slur for Native Americans.

Nancy Pelosi warned members of Congress to avoid letting children or family members answer phone calls or read text messages.

At times, centrists, progressive candidates and incumbent Democrats all expressed opposition to Nancy Pelosi's continued tenure as the party's House leader.

In 2017, after Democrats lost four consecutive special elections in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi's leadership was again called into question.

Nancy Pelosi said Congress had "a moral duty to the brave women and men coming forward to seize this moment and demonstrate real, effective leadership to foster a climate of respect and dignity in the workplace".

In February 2018, Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan about the proposed public release of a memo prepared by Republican staff at the direction of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes.

Nancy Pelosi said the FBI and the Department of Justice had warned Nunes and Ryan that the memo was inaccurate and that its release could threaten national security by disclosing federal surveillance methods.

Nancy Pelosi was reelected to the speakership at the start of the 116th Congress on January 3,2019.

On February 4,2020, at the conclusion of Trump's State of the Union address, Nancy Pelosi tore up her official copy of it.

In December 2021, Nancy Pelosi announced her candidacy for reelection to the House in 2022.

In 2022, Nancy Pelosi was reelected, but the Democratic Party lost the House majority.

Nancy Pelosi declined to allow Trump to give the State of the Union Address in the House chamber while the shutdown was ongoing.

On September 29,2019, Nancy Pelosi announced the launch of an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

On December 5,2019, after the inquiry had taken place, Nancy Pelosi authorized the Judiciary Committee to begin drafting articles of impeachment.

Nancy Pelosi attracted controversy when footage emerged in early September 2020 of her visiting a hair salon in San Francisco.

Nancy Pelosi played a key role in the 2021 passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Times noted that Nancy Pelosi did not make herself the public face of this, instead having Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty persuade House Democratic Caucus members to accept the proposal.

In 2021, former Republican speaker John Boehner opined that Nancy Pelosi had been the most powerful House speaker in US history.

Whether you agree with her politics or not, it is undeniable that [Nancy Pelosi] has been a remarkably effective House leader.

Harold Meyerson opined that Nancy Pelosi had been the greatest speaker in US history in an article in The American Prospect.

Amid concerns about President Biden's reelection prospects in the 2024 presidential election, Nancy Pelosi played a key role in the effort to pressure him to withdraw his candidacy before the Democratic National Convention.

Nancy Pelosi personally warned Biden that she feared his faltering candidacy might not only result in Trump's victory but have a coattail effect that could bring Democrats defeat in the coinciding House and Senate elections and give Republicans a government trifecta.

When Democratic members of Congress privately sought her guidance on how to handle their concerns, Nancy Pelosi advised them "speak their conscience".

Nancy Pelosi briefly held off from endorsing Harris's candidacy before doing so the next day.

Nancy Pelosi is a member of the House Baltic Caucus and the Congressional Equality Caucus.

Early in her political career, Nancy Pelosi established herself as a prominent fundraiser in the party.

Nancy Pelosi was one of the party's most prolific fundraisers, transferring significant funds to committees for other candidates.

In 2006, Nancy Pelosi was the Democratic Party's third-largest fundraiser, behind former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

From 2003 to 2014, Nancy Pelosi raised more than $400 million in campaign funds.

Nancy Pelosi was a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which she left in 2003 after being elected House minority leader.

In June 2018, Nancy Pelosi visited a federal facility used to detain migrant children separated from their parents and subsequently called for the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Nancy Pelosi indirectly voiced her opposition to California Proposition 8, a successful 2008 state ballot initiative which defined marriage in California as a union between one man and one woman.

In 2012, Nancy Pelosi said her position on LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage grows from and reflects her Catholic faith; it places her at odds with Catholic doctrine, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Nancy Pelosi repeatedly criticized the fact that the United States Capitol exhibited artworks depicting people who in various capacities supported the Confederacy in the American Civil War.

In June 2020, following the nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, Nancy Pelosi pushed for the removal of all statues of Confederates from the Capitol.

In 2002, while Nancy Pelosi was the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, she was briefed on the ongoing use of "enhanced interrogation techniques", including waterboarding, authorized for a captured terrorist, Abu Zubaydah.

One Republican congressman who voted against the initial bill accused Nancy Pelosi of unethically benefiting Del Monte Foods by excluding the territory, where Del Monte's StarKist Tuna brand is a major employer.

Nancy Pelosi co-sponsored legislation that omitted American Samoa from a raise in the minimum wage as early as 1999, before Del Monte's acquisition of StarKist Tuna in 2002.

Nancy Pelosi opposed the welfare reform President Bush proposed as well as reforms proposed and passed under President Clinton.

In January 2018, shortly after the tax bill passed, a reporter asked Nancy Pelosi to respond to statements by companies crediting the tax cuts with allowing them to raise wages and give bonuses.

Nancy Pelosi said that, given the benefits corporations received from the tax bill, the benefits workers got were "crumbs".

In November 2018, Nancy Pelosi said she had spoken with Trump about infrastructure development.

Nancy Pelosi mentioned potential bipartisan legislative initiatives that would "create good paying jobs and will generate other economic growth in their regions".

Nancy Pelosi called on the Trump administration to take "real, urgent action to combat the threat of the climate crisis, which is making the wildfire season longer, more expensive and more destructive".

In 1999, Nancy Pelosi voted against displaying the Ten Commandments in public buildings, including schools.

Nancy Pelosi voted for the No Child Left Behind Act, which instituted testing to track students' progress and authorized an increase in overall education spending.

In 2019, Nancy Pelosi said climate change was "the existential threat of our time" and called for action to curb it.

Nancy Pelosi has supported the development of new technologies to reduce US dependence on foreign oil and remediate the adverse environmental effects of burning fossil fuels.

Nancy Pelosi has widely supported conservation programs and energy research appropriations.

Nancy Pelosi has voted to remove an amendment that would allow for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Nancy Pelosi has blocked efforts to revive offshore oil drilling in protected areas, reasoning that offshore drilling could lead to an increase in dependence on fossil fuels.

Nancy Pelosi was instrumental in passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

On March 10,2017, Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would continue battling Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but would be willing to form a compromise measure if Republicans reached out for support.

Nancy Pelosi indicated her support for the Republican plan to expand Health Savings Accounts and said the question of Republicans' accepting an expansion of Medicaid was important.

Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would be unified in putting "a stake in the heart of this monstrous bill".

Nancy Pelosi voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and earlier attempts at similar bans, and voted against the criminalization of certain situations where a minor is transported across state lines for an abortion.

Nancy Pelosi voted in favor of the 1998 Abortion Funding Amendment, which would have allowed the use of district funds to promote abortion-related activities, but would have prohibited the use of federal funds.

The archbishop's statement quoted Nancy Pelosi as saying the church has not been able to define when life begins.

Nancy Pelosi stands in favor of increased background checks for potential gun owners, as well as the banning of assault weapons.

Nancy Pelosi requested House Speaker Ryan and Republicans take action via consideration of legislation expanding background checks or authorizing researchers to use federal dollars to examine public health as it relates to gun violence.

Nancy Pelosi advocated for the creation of a special committee on gun violence and said Republicans had previously created committees to investigate Planned Parenthood and the 2012 Benghazi attack.

In November 2018, after the Thousand Oaks shooting, Nancy Pelosi released a statement saying Americans "deserve real action to end the daily epidemic of gun violence that is stealing the lives of our children on campuses, in places of worship and on our streets" and pledged that gun control would be a priority for House Democrats in the 116th United States Congress.

In November, when asked about Democrats beginning the impeachment process against Trump in the event they won a majority of seats in the 2018 elections, Nancy Pelosi said it would not be one of their legislative priorities but that the option could be considered if credible evidence appeared during the ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In January 2018, Nancy Pelosi referred to Trump's 2018 State of the Union Address as a performance without serious policy ideas the parties could collaborate on.

Nancy Pelosi questioned Trump's refusal to implement Russian sanctions after more than 500 members of Congress voted to approve them.

Nancy Pelosi did note the scandal as having highlighted a double standard of Republicans on issues of family values and expectations of presidential behavior, saying the party would be very involved if the event was happening to a Democrat.

The Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives in the November 2018 elections, and Nancy Pelosi took office as Speaker.

Later in the day, Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of "obstructing justice" and again said he "is engaged in a cover-up".

McConnell rejected these efforts, and the House transmitted the articles to the Senate on January 15,2020, with Nancy Pelosi naming seven Democratic Representatives, led by Representative Adam Schiff, as the House managers to argue the impeachment case against Trump in the Senate.

On October 8,2020, Nancy Pelosi announced that legislation was being introduced in the House of Representatives to advance the creation of a commission to allow the use of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to intervene and remove Trump from executive duties.

Nancy Pelosi's view was that Congress should oppose the annual presidential waiver for China under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, an amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 that required the president to inform Congress if he intended to waive the Act to have a most favored nation trading relationship with a non-market economy.

Nancy Pelosi said that if China's economy suffered, Chinese people would be unhappy with their government and this would serve to advance democracy in China.

Nancy Pelosi advocated for Chinese political prisoners and dissidents to be able to come to the US In 1999, ahead of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to the US for talks over World Trade Organization admission for China, Pelosi called on President Clinton and Vice President Gore to ask Zhu to recognize the 1989 protests as a pro-democracy effort.

In 2010, Nancy Pelosi backed a bill naming China a currency manipulator, which would appease exporters.

Nancy Pelosi called the ruling an injustice that should "shock the conscience of the world".

Nancy Pelosi urged Trump to take a strong stand against unfair market barriers in China.

In September 2019, Nancy Pelosi met with Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong on Capitol Hill; Chinese media responded by accusing Nancy Pelosi of "backing and encouraging radical activists".

President Joe Biden discouraged but did not prevent Nancy Pelosi from traveling to Taiwan, and the White House later affirmed her right to visit.

Nancy Pelosi's trip triggered a new round of hostilities in the already tense relationship between the US and China.

Nancy Pelosi said her visit was a sign of the US Congress's commitment to Taiwan.

Nancy Pelosi publicly scolded Colombian president Alvaro Uribe during Uribe's May 2007 state visit to America.

Nancy Pelosi met with Uribe and later released a statement that she and other members of Congress had "expressed growing concerns about the serious allegations" of links between paramilitary groups and Colombian government officials.

In July 2015, Nancy Pelosi said she was convinced Obama would have enough votes to secure the Iran nuclear deal, crediting the president with having made a "very strong and forceful presentation of his case supporting the nuclear agreement with Iran" and called the deal "a diplomatic masterpiece".

UC Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain said Nancy Pelosi had to balance the demands of her anti-war constituency against the moderate views of Democrats in tight races around the country in her role as minority leader.

Nancy Pelosi has never faced a serious challenger to her left in her district.

Nancy Pelosi has reaffirmed that "America and Israel share an unbreakable bond: in peace and war; and in prosperity and in hardship".

Nancy Pelosi voted in favor of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which urged the federal government to relocate the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Nancy Pelosi agrees with the current US stance in support of land-for-peace.

Nancy Pelosi has applauded Israeli "hopeful signs" of offering land while criticizing Palestinian "threats" of not demonstrating peace in turn.

Nancy Pelosi asserts that civilians on both sides of the border "have been put at risk by the aggression of Hamas and Hezbollah" in part for their use of "civilians as shields by concealing weapons in civilian areas".

In September 2008, Nancy Pelosi hosted a reception in Washington with Israeli Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, along with 20 members of Congress, where they toasted the "strong friendship" between Israel and the United States.

In January 2017, Nancy Pelosi voted against a House resolution that would condemn the UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Nancy Pelosi condemned the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

Nancy Pelosi has voiced heavy criticism over Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Nancy Pelosi said Israeli annexation would undermine US national security interests.

Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats are taking "a great pride" in Barack Obama's Memorandum of Understanding that Israel signed with the Obama administration in 2016, for a guarantee of $38billion in defense assistance over a decade.

On January 28,2024, Nancy Pelosi suggested that some pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war could be connected to Russia and called on the FBI to investigate the possible connection.

Nancy Pelosi is one of the few members of Congress to have traveled to North Korea.

Nancy Pelosi's saber-rattling and provocative, impulsive rhetoric erode our credibility.

In December 2017, Nancy Pelosi wrote a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan advocating for the continued House investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on the grounds that Americans deserved "a comprehensive and fair investigation into Russia's attack" and "America's democracy and national security" being at stake.

Nancy Pelosi cited the need for Congress to "fully investigate Russia's assault on our election systems to prevent future foreign attacks".

In February 2018, after the release of a Republican report alleging surveillance abuses by the Justice Department, Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of siding with Russian president Vladimir Putin at the expense of preserving intelligence sources and methods.

Nancy Pelosi supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya in 2011.

In January 2019, Nancy Pelosi criticized President Trump's planned withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Afghanistan.

Nancy Pelosi called Trump's announcement a "Christmas gift to Vladimir Putin".

In mid-October 2007, after the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution to label the 1915 killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, Nancy Pelosi pledged to bring the measure to a vote.

Nancy Pelosi has often been described as a polarizing figure, facing criticism from both the political right and left.

Nancy Pelosi has faced allegations of using her position for insider trading, particularly concerning stock transactions that critics claim were influenced by her legislative knowledge.

Nancy Pelosi defeated San Francisco Supervisor Harry Britt in the Democratic primary with 36 percent of the vote to his 32 percent, then Republican Harriet Ross by more than 2-to-1.

Since then, Nancy Pelosi has enjoyed overwhelming support in her political career, collecting 76 and 77 percent of the vote in 1988 and 1990.

In 1992, after the redistricting from the 1990 census, Nancy Pelosi ran in, which now covered the San Francisco area.

Nancy Pelosi has continued to post landslide victories since, dropping beneath 80 percent of the vote only three times in general elections.

Nancy and Paul Pelosi have five children, including Christine and Alexandra, and nine grandchildren.

Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, is a wealthy investor and the primary source of the couple's wealth.

Roll Call said Nancy Pelosi's earnings are connected to her husband's heavy investments in stocks that include Apple, Disney, Comcast and Facebook.

In May and June 2021, Nancy Pelosi's husband purchased stocks in tech companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple, netting a gain of $5.3 million.

Nancy Pelosi is a board member of the National Organization of Italian American Women.

Nancy Pelosi served for 13 years as a board member of the National Italian American Foundation.

Nancy Pelosi considers herself a "devout Catholic", but has had numerous disagreements with members of the church hierarchy over gay rights, abortion, contraception, and in vitro fertilization.

Nancy Pelosi has said that her biggest disappointment was the church's lobbying against the Affordable Care Act because of contraception coverage.

On May 20,2022, Salvatore Cordileone, archbishop of San Francisco, announced that Nancy Pelosi would be barred from receiving Holy Communion because of her support of pro-choice abortion policies.

On June 29,2022, Nancy Pelosi received Communion at a Papal Mass presided over by Pope Francis in Rome at St Peter's Basilica.

In October 2022, while Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, DC, an intruder entered her San Francisco home demanding to know her whereabouts, and attacked her husband, Paul Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer.

In December 2024, Nancy Pelosi was hospitalized after fracturing her hip while falling down stairs in high heels during an official trip to Luxembourg.

Nancy Pelosi was there as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation to observe the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.