Nancy Pelosi during a swearing-in ceremony for the 110th Congress in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol January 4, 2007, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2010
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi during an enrollment ceremony in her office at the United States Capitol March 17, 2010, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2015
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly press conference on April 23, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2016
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) listens during a news conference on April 21, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2016
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and fellow Democratic members of the House hold a news conference to call on Republicans to fund programs to combat the spread of the Zika virus at the United States Capitol on September 7, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2016
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) answers questions during her weekly press conference at the United States Capitol on September 22, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2017
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Donald Trump (C) and President Barack Obama (R) are greeted by members of the Congressional leadership including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as they arrive for Trump's inauguration ceremony at the Capitol on January 20, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2018
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a news conference following the 2018 midterm elections at the Capitol Building on November 7, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2018
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference on November 15, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20502, United States
Donald Trump (2R) argues about border security with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (R) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as Vice President Mike Pence sits nearby in the Oval Office on December 11, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) following an announced end to the partial government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on January 25, 2019, in Washington, DC, United States. (Photo by Zach Gibson)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Washington, DC, USA
United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) answers questions during her weekly press conference on January 10, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence applaud President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the United States Capitol Building on February 5, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi answers questions during her weekly press conference on January 31, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Washington, DC, USA
Donald Trump kisses Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) while departing the United States Capitol following a St. Patrick's Day celebration on March 14, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol following an aborted White House meeting with United States President Donald Trump on infrastructure legislation on May 22, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) on October 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi delivers remarks at a press conference at the United States Capitol on October 31, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) presides over Resolution 755 as the House of Representatives voted on the second article of impeachment of United States President Donald Trump at the House Chamber at the US Capitol Building on December 18, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delivers remarks alongside Chairman Jerry Nadler, House Committee on the Judiciary (D-NY), and Chairman Eliot Engel, House Foreign Affairs Committee (D-NY), following the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2019
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the House will proceed with articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Speaker's Balcony in the United States Capitol on December 05, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
Washington, DC, USA
Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address as House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) looks on in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives on February 04, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) holds up the ripped up copy of President Donald Trump's speech after the State of the Union address in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives on February 04, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to members of the media at the United States Capitol on March 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
First St SE, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate, including (L-R) Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), to announce new legislation to end excessive use of force by police across the country and make it easier to identify, track, and prosecute police misconduct at the United States Capitol June 08, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
First St NE, Washington, DC 20515, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters during a news conference in the United States Capitol Visitors Center on August 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Gallery of Nancy Pelosi
2020
1670 Noe St, San Francisco, CA 94131, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a Day of Action For the Children event at Mission Education Center Elementary School on September 02, 2020, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan)
Achievements
Membership
National Organization of Italian American Women
National Italian American Foundation
Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Nancy Pelosi during a swearing-in ceremony for the 110th Congress in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol January 4, 2007, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and fellow Democratic members of the House hold a news conference to call on Republicans to fund programs to combat the spread of the Zika virus at the United States Capitol on September 7, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) answers questions during her weekly press conference at the United States Capitol on September 22, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Donald Trump (C) and President Barack Obama (R) are greeted by members of the Congressional leadership including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as they arrive for Trump's inauguration ceremony at the Capitol on January 20, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a news conference following the 2018 midterm elections at the Capitol Building on November 7, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson)
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20502, United States
Donald Trump (2R) argues about border security with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (R) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as Vice President Mike Pence sits nearby in the Oval Office on December 11, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) following an announced end to the partial government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on January 25, 2019, in Washington, DC, United States. (Photo by Zach Gibson)
United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) answers questions during her weekly press conference on January 10, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence applaud President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the United States Capitol Building on February 5, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Donald Trump kisses Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) while departing the United States Capitol following a St. Patrick's Day celebration on March 14, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol following an aborted White House meeting with United States President Donald Trump on infrastructure legislation on May 22, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) on October 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) presides over Resolution 755 as the House of Representatives voted on the second article of impeachment of United States President Donald Trump at the House Chamber at the US Capitol Building on December 18, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delivers remarks alongside Chairman Jerry Nadler, House Committee on the Judiciary (D-NY), and Chairman Eliot Engel, House Foreign Affairs Committee (D-NY), following the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the House will proceed with articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Speaker's Balcony in the United States Capitol on December 05, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address as House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) looks on in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives on February 04, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) holds up the ripped up copy of President Donald Trump's speech after the State of the Union address in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives on February 04, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate, including (L-R) Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), to announce new legislation to end excessive use of force by police across the country and make it easier to identify, track, and prosecute police misconduct at the United States Capitol June 08, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters during a news conference in the United States Capitol Visitors Center on August 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
1670 Noe St, San Francisco, CA 94131, United States
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a Day of Action For the Children event at Mission Education Center Elementary School on September 02, 2020, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan)
(When Nancy Pelosi became the first woman, Speaker of the ...)
When Nancy Pelosi became the first woman, Speaker of the House, she made history. Now she continues to inspire women everywhere in this thought-provoking collection of wise words-her own and those of the important people who played pivotal roles in her journey.
Nancy Pelosi is an American politician. Despite first running for office at age 47, Pelosi has managed to become the most powerful woman in Washington. Until 2007, she was the House Minority Leader, and she has represented the 8th Congressional District of California since 1987. Pelosi became the first female Democratic leader of the House of Representatives and the first female speaker of the House.
Background
Ethnicity:
Both of Nancy Pelosi's parents were of Italian descent. Her father was a second-generation immigrant from South Italy, while her mother was a first-generation immigrant from Campobasso, South Italy.
Nancy Pelosi was born on March 26, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, the United States, to Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro Jr. and Annunciata M. "Nancy" D'Alesandro (née Lombardi). Pelosi carries on the family tradition of being involved in politics. Pelosi's father, Tommy D'Alesandro, was a legendary Democratic congressman and Baltimore mayor. Her brother Thomas would also go on to become mayor of Baltimore. A student of law, she dropped out of law school to get married. She later became a leader at the local Democratic Women's Club.
Nancy was the last of six children and the first daughter. The family lived on Albemarle Street in Little Italy. Their neighborhood was a loyal Democratic Party stronghold in Maryland politics. Little Italy was a working-class and largely Roman Catholic neighborhood, located near the city's main harbor. The local church, St. Leo's, and the nearby Democratic Party office were the centers of social and economic life for Italian-American families.
Education
In 1947, when Nancy was seven years old, her father was elected the Mayor of Baltimore, serving three consecutive terms. She soon became known as the ‘Mayor’s daughter’ and often took part in campaigns, learning the nitty-gritty of politics from him. At 12, she attended her first Democratic National Convention. Born to Democratic parents, she was once offered a toy elephant from a Republican poll worker. Although she was still very young, she refused to take it. Later, she was put in charge of the book, in which her father kept records of favors he had done or owed.
During the 1950s many devout Roman Catholic families placed restrictions on their children, and Pelosi's early family life was no different. She attended the Institute of Notre Dame High School in Baltimore, a school for young women, from where she graduated in 1958. In those days, it was considered an honor for the family to have a daughter or a son enter the church and her mother wanted her to be the one. However, Nancy was not interested in becoming a nun, preferring priesthood because she had noticed that priests had the real power.
When it came time to choose a college, her parents permitted her to travel only as far as Washington, D.C., which was less than fifty miles from Baltimore. Pelosi graduated from Trinity College, a Roman Catholic college for women in Washington, D.C., in 1962. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
Pelosi earned her degree from Trinity in 1962 and then served as a congressional intern for a Maryland senator. She thought about law school but followed the more traditional path for a young woman of her era, that of marriage. Focused on raising her family, Pelosi got into politics slowly, starting out as a volunteer for the Democratic Party. She hosted parties and helped with campaigns.
Pelosi rose up in the party ranks, serving as a California representative to the Democratic National Committee. In 1976 she worked for the presidential campaign of California's popular governor, Jerry Brown. Brown went on to win an unexpected primary victory in Maryland, thanks to Pelosi. Later that year he lost the Democratic Party's presidential nomination to Georgia's governor, Jimmy Carter. In 1976, she was elected to the Democratic National Committee, where she represented California until 1996. On January 30, 1977, she was appointed the Chairwoman for the Northern section of the Democratic Party of California, serving successfully in that position for four years. Thereafter in 1981, she was elected Chairwoman for the entire Democratic Party of California, serving in that capacity till 1983.
Until 1986, Nancy Pelosi remained behind the scene, choosing candidates and getting them elected. She never thought of contesting herself. However, all of this changed when her close friend and Representative from California Sala Burton became terminally ill. She requested Pelosi to succeed her. In 1987, Pelosi made the leap to public office, winning a special election for California's Eighth District, which includes San Francisco. As a member of the House of Representatives, she has served on the Appropriations Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
In 2002, Pelosi was selected to be the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, making her the first woman in history to earn the honor. Pelosi developed a reputation as a shrewd politician, and she steadily rose within the party, becoming a minority whip in 2002. When she took office in 2003, she became the first woman to lead a party in Congress. Using what she referred to as her "mother of five" voice, Pelosi began pushing for unity among the diverse factions within her party by embracing conservatives and moderates.
Still, Pelosi continued to vote consistently in favor of such liberal causes like gun control and abortion rights, opposed welfare reform, and cast a vote against the Iraq War. 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.
On November 16, 2006, Pelosi was unanimously chosen as the Democratic candidate for the post of Speaker. As the Democrats had taken control of the House of Representatives after the 2006 midterm poll, she became the Speaker-elect because the post traditionally goes to the majority party. This made her the first woman, first Italian-American, and first Californian to hold this post. In her speech, she described her election as a historic moment for American women.
After Democrat Barack Obama assumed the presidency in 2009, Pelosi was a vocal supporter of many of his policies, helping to shepherd through his $787 billion stimulus package in February 2009 and playing an instrumental role in the more-than-yearlong effort to secure health care reform, which ultimately passed in March 2010. The historic bill extended health care to some 30 million previously uninsured Americans and prohibited insurers from denying coverage to those with preexisting conditions.
In the lead-up to the 2010 midterm elections, she became a target of Republican attacks and a rallying point for Tea Partiers, who were keen to turn the elections into a referendum on the Democratic agenda. Pelosi remained House speaker until November 2010, when Republicans gained control of the House and elected John Boehner to the role, relegating Pelosi to minority leader.
The Democrats fared poorly in the November elections and lost control of the House. Despite calls for new party leadership, Pelosi was elected to serve as minority leader in the next Congress. She continued in that post as Democrats failed to regain control of the House in several subsequent elections. Their lackluster electoral performance, especially with working-class voters, lead to unrest among House Democrats, and, after Republican Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, Tim Ryan from Ohio challenged Pelosi for minority leader. Pelosi ultimately prevailed.
On February 7, 2018, 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 1909.
After Democrats reclaimed control of the House in the 2018 midterms, Pelosi was once again elected House speaker at the beginning of 2019, placing her on the front line in the battle with President Donald Trump over his demand for $5.7 billion for a wall spanning the United States-Mexico border.
The stalemate turned into a contentious 35-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.
After Congress passed a funding bill that allocated only $1.375 billion for the border wall, Trump declared a national emergency on February 15, allowing him to divert money for other projects to his wall. 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. Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan - known as "the Squad." After the outspoken quartet voted against an emergency border funding bill in June, Pelosi fired back at their criticism of her negotiations. "All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world," she told The New York Times. "But they didn't have any following. 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 100 years.
After months of resisting calls from progressives to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Trump, in September 2019, Pelosi announced that the House would launch a formal impeachment inquiry. The tipping point came with reports that Trump had withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure its government into investigating the actions of 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden's son. "The president must be held accountable," the speaker said. "No one is above the law."
On October 31, the Pelosi-led House took the next step by approving a resolution that established rules for the impeachment process, paving the way for public hearings to commence on November 11. On December 10, House Democratic leaders unveiled two articles of impeachment, charging the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
On December 18, 2019, one day after Pelosi received a scathing letter from the president in which he slammed the "invalid" process, the House voted almost entirely along party lines for the two articles of impeachment. The speaker then delayed the process of relaying the articles to the Senate, in hopes of securing terms for a fair trial in the Republican-controlled upper chamber, before finally following through on January 15, 2020.
Other than sending a team of House impeachment managers to argue the Democrats' case, Pelosi could do little as Senate Republicans voted against allowing additional witnesses and expressed the belief that the president's conduct did not warrant removal from office.
Her frayed relationship with Trump was on display during his televised State of the Union address on February 4, with the president seemingly snubbing her attempted handshake and the speaker ripping up a copy of his speech afterward. The following day, the impeachment saga came to an end when the Senate voted along party lines to acquit Trump on both charges.
During this time, the coronavirus was spreading around the world, eventually becoming a pandemic. In March 2020, as deaths in the United States began to mount, businesses and schools started to close, and the economy entered an economic downturn that soon rivaled the Great Depression. That month Pelosi helped secure the passage of a $2 trillion relief package, the largest stimulus bill in United States history. As the pandemic worsened in the country, she blamed the president - going so far as to call it the "Trump virus" - alleging that he had mishandled the government response.
(When Nancy Pelosi became the first woman, Speaker of the ...)
2008
Religion
Nancy was raised in a largely Roman Catholic working-class neighborhood and attended a private Catholic all-girls high school in Baltimore. Her parents were strict Roman Catholics as well. Her mother, Annunciata, hoped she might become a Roman Catholic nun.
As a publicly practicing Catholic and a public opponent of efforts to make abortion illegal, Speaker Pelosi has come under sharp criticism by some bishops and other Catholics who believe that a politician who supports legalized abortion should not be allowed to receive Communion.
She said: "The church sees it another way, and I respect that," adding, however, that she hoped the United States bishops would not use the refusal of Holy Communion as a way of punishing Catholic politicians who don’t heed church teachings on abortion.
Politics
Pelosi comes from a strong family tradition of public service. Her late father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. Seemingly, Pelosi was a Democrat from birth.
Working in partnership with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi led House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in early 2009 to create and save millions of American jobs, provide relief for American families, and provide a tax cut to 95 percent of working Americans. With the House Democratic Caucus, Pelosi continues to focus on the need to create jobs in America and prevent them from being shipped overseas. Pelosi was the architect of the landmark Affordable Care Act which has guaranteed protections for all Americans with pre-existing medical conditions, ended annual and lifetime limits on health coverage, and provided affordable health coverage for tens of millions more Americans while lowering health care costs over the long term.
Pelosi also led the Congress in passing strong Wall Street reforms to rein in big banks and protect consumers as well as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which expands educational opportunities and reforms the financial aid system to save billions of taxpayers’ dollars. Additional key legislation passed into law included the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore the ability of women and all workers to access our judicial system to fight pay discrimination; legislation to provide health care for 11 million American children; national service legislation; and hate crimes legislation.
Views
Pelosi has been a strong supporter of increased funding for health research and for other health care and housing programs and initiatives. She is also an advocate for human rights and the environment. As a member of the House from San Francisco, Pelosi took the lead on LGBT rights and the AIDS crisis back when those were unpopular topics nationally.
Quotations:
"You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole-vault. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people."
"A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
"Maybe it will take a woman to clean up the House."
"Any one of us who decides to put our young people in harm's way carries a responsibility for the consequences."
Membership
Pelosi is a board member of the National Organization of Italian American Women and the National Italian American Foundation.
National Organization of Italian American Women
National Italian American Foundation
Personality
Pelosi loves chocolate and chocolate ice cream, and her office is always stocked with Ghirardelli chocolates. She also loves to solve crossword puzzles, and one of her favorite hobbies is to complete New York Times crossword puzzles.
Interests
crossword puzzles
Politicians
Barack Obama, John Kennedy
Writers
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Inferno by Dan Brown, The Age of wonder by Richard Holmes
Artists
Max Mara
Sport & Clubs
hockey, tennis, basketball
Athletes
Stephen Curry
Music & Bands
Bob Dylan, Metallica, Lady Antebellum
Connections
On September 7, 1963, Nancy D'Alesandro married Paul Francis Pelosi at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Baltimore. They initially settled down in the New York City area where Paul was employed as a banker, remaining there until 1969. Thereafter, they moved to San Francisco where they reside until now.
The couple has five children; Nancy Corinne, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul Jr., and Alexandra, all of them born within the first six years of their married life. Among them, Christine followed her mother’s footsteps, becoming Democratic Party’s political strategist from California while Alexandra grew up to be a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and writer.
Pelosi
An intimate, fresh perspective on the most powerful woman in American political history, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by award-winning political journalist Molly Ball She’s the iconic leader who puts Donald Trump in his place, the woman with the toughness to take on a lawless president and defend American democracy.
2020
The Nancy Pelosi Way: Advice on Success, Leadership, and Politics from America's Most Powerful Woman
Understand and apply the wisdom of Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi - through the eyes of someone who knows her best. In this personal and important book, Christine Pelosi takes a close look at how her mother went from homemaker to Speaker of the House of Representatives and became the most powerful female politician in America.