Washington: Nancy Pelosi, who led the Democrats for two decades, announced her resignation. The resignation comes after the Democrats suffered a setback in the previous election.
Pelosi's replacement will have to unite fractious House Democrats torn between centrists and left-wingers. Her allies rallied around Representative Hakeem Jeffries as her likely successor as the top House Democrat. Republicans are preparing to install a speaker from their party who is expected to impede President Biden's legislative agenda.
Nancy Pelosi, 82, is the first woman to be Speaker of the House of Representatives and the only person to be elected twice in a decade.
She was the most powerful elected woman in U.S. history until Kamala Harris became vice president. Pelosi also noted the increase in women and minority lawmakers since she joined the House in 1987.
Pelosi, the leader of the opposition in the House in 2003, became the first woman to hold the position of Speaker when the Democratic Party came to power in 2006. In 2018, he was again decorated as Speaker.
Pelosi will remain in office until the next Congress convenes in January.
Pelosi played a central role in shepherding the legislative agenda of two Democratic presidents through Congress, even as she was vilified by many conservatives.
She helped pass President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law as well as expansions of infrastructure and climate spending and gun regulations under Biden. She also presided as the House impeached Republican President Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021.
Pelosi's response to the resignation announcement is that it is time for a new generation. Pelosi said she has no interest in becoming speaker or leader but will remain in Congress next year.
Pelosi had been under pressure over the past few years from younger House Democrats to yield power. Even as Americans live longer lives, the party's ageing leadership has raised concerns about its future. Biden himself turns 80 on Sunday. Nancy is also a candidate in the mid-term elections for the US Congress.
The current No. 3 House Democrat, James Clyburn, 82, will likely stay on in an advisory role, sources say.