Nancy Pelosi is a prominent American politician who has been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives twice, from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker and is considered one of the most consequential House Speakers in American history. [1] During her career, she has received multiple awards and honors in the US and from around the world.
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The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section II, of the U.S. Constitution. By custom and House rules, the speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates—that duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party—nor regularly participate in floor debates.
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. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected as U.S. House Speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress, leading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023. A member of the House since 1987, Pelosi currently represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco. She is the dean of California's congressional delegation.
Barbara Jean Lee is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1998 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee represented California's 12th congressional district, which is based in Oakland and covers most of the northern part of Alameda County. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, it is one of the nation's most Democratic districts, with a rating of D+40.
Anna A. Eshoo is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for California's 16th congressional district from 1993 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 18th district from 2013 to 2023, is based in Silicon Valley, including the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto, as well as part of San Jose. Eshoo is the only Assyrian-American in Congress and the only Armenian American woman in Congress. On November 21, 2023, she announced she would not seek re-election in 2024.
Steny Hamilton Hoyer is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Hoyer first attained office through a special election on May 19, 1981, and is in his 23rd House term. His district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation and the most senior Democrat in the House.
Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro Jr. was an American politician who served as the 41st mayor of Baltimore from 1947 to 1959. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented Maryland's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until 1947. He was known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the D'Alesandro political family, which includes Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and Thomas D'Alesandro III, the 44th mayor of Baltimore.
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs was a politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. She was also a permanent chairwoman of the 1976 Democratic National Convention, which met in New York City to nominate the Carter-Mondale ticket. She was the first woman to preside over a major party convention.
Paul Francis Pelosi is an American businessman who owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, Inc., a San Francisco–based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm. He was the owner of the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He is married to Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Christine Paule Pelosi is an American Democratic Party political strategist from California. She is the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and businessman Paul Pelosi and sister of Alexandra Pelosi.
Since 2004, Forbes, an American business magazine, has published an annual list of its ranking of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Edited by prominent Forbes journalists, including Moira Forbes, the list is compiled using various criteria such as visibility and economic impact. In 2023, the gauge was "money, media, impact and spheres of influence". The top 10 per year are listed below.
Karen Ruth Bass is an American politician and former physician assistant who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2022 and in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010, serving as speaker during her final Assembly term.
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Congress. In total, 396 women have been U.S. representatives and eight more have been non-voting delegates. As of January 3, 2025, there are 125 women in the U.S. House of Representatives, making women 28.7% of the total. Of the 404 women who have served in the House, 269 have been Democrats and 135 have been Republicans. One woman was the 52nd Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California.
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served since 2011 as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district. The district includes most of the Black Belt, as well as most of the predominantly African American portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.
Katherine Marlea Clark is an American lawyer and politician who has served as House Minority Whip since 2023 and the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She previously served as Assistant Speaker from 2021 to 2023 and Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus from 2019 to 2021. Clark was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011 and the Massachusetts Senate from 2011 to 2013.
Jennifer Lynn Wexton is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States representative for Virginia's 10th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. The district is anchored in the outer portion of Northern Virginia, and includes most of Loudoun County, parts of Prince William, Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Fairfax counties, and small parts of the independent cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban and exurban areas west of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, Sherrill was elected on November 6, 2018. She was reelected in 2020 by a slightly narrower margin and reelected in 2022 by a wide margin. She is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey.
Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the US Representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
Kendra Suzanne Horn is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district included almost all of Oklahoma City.
A leadership election was held by the United States House of Representatives Democratic Caucus before the beginning of the 116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019. The election determined who will be nominated by the caucus for the speakership election as well as who would occupy other leadership positions within the House Democratic Caucus. The following positions were nominated or elected on November 29: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader, House Majority Whip, House Assistant Majority Leader, Democratic Caucus Chair, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair, the Policy and Communications Committee's Chair and its three Co-Chairs, Junior Caucus Representative and Freshman Class Representative were elected the next day, and a third co-chair was added to the Steering and Policy Committee by the Leader.
The magic minute, or leadership minute, is a custom in the United States House of Representatives that allows party leaders to speak for as long as they wish, in contrast with other members, who have to adhere to strict time limits. The convention was notably used by Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy in 2018 and 2021, respectively, to speak for records of over eight hours.