Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi (1940- ) is a congressional representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the elected leader of the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003. She has served twice as Speaker of the House (2007–2011, and since 2019), and twice as House Minority Leader (2003–2007 and 2011–2019).
Pelosi is the first woman to lead either party in Congress. Being Speaker of the House places her second in the line of succession for President of the United States (if need, and after the Vice President). Thus, before Kamala Harris was elected as Joe Biden's Vice President in 2020, Pelosi held the highest office which had been attained by any woman in the United States.
Pelosi has long been demonized publicly by some extreme right-wingers, and has been personally threatened and had her home threatened on multiple occasions. On October 28, 2022, a man with right-wing views broke into her San Francisco home, screaming "Where is Nancy?", and struck her 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, a near-fatal blow to the head with a hammer. Mr. Pelosi is hospitalized but expected to recover.
Pelosi declined to run again as the senate's Democratic party leader in late 2022. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries from New York will be sworn in as the minority (Democratic) party leader in the House on Jan. 3, 2023.