周四早上，众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)穿着一套争取妇女参政权的白色套装大步走进国会大厦，她的电影制作人女儿亚历山德拉(Alexandra)走在后面，拿着相机记录她母亲的生活和职业生涯，记录她最近的历史性时刻。
现年82岁的她是第一位也是唯一一位当选为众议院议长的女性，是总统职位的第二继承人，也是美国政府中级别最高的女性，当她穿过一波又一波的媒体时，她获得了比以往更多的关注，这些媒体用有关她的政治未来的问题轰炸了她——就在她作为民主党最高领导人近20年后发表告别演讲的几个小时前。
佩洛西在过去的一个月里既忍受了民主党在众议院多数席位的损失，又忍受了她82岁的丈夫保罗在旧金山家中的暴力攻击，警方说，这是一次针对她的攻击，她在周三得知她需要将木槌让给共和党人。现在，她让位给新一代众议院领袖是正式的，尽管目前她仍将留在国会。
“历史将会注意到她是我们历史上最重要的众议院议长，”拜登说。
“和南希在一起，你看到一个父亲的女儿在他身边学会了如何获胜和管理。有她带头，你永远不用担心法案会不会通过，”他说。“如果她说她有选票，她就有选票。每次都是。”
拜登在声明中称赞佩洛西是确保“一代人一次的法案，将在未来几十年界定我们的国家”的“独特力量”，包括通货膨胀削减法案，基础设施投资，芯片和科学法案和枪支立法等。
佩洛西代表加州第12国会选区，包括旧金山，已经35年了。
她在2007年当选为首位女议长，并在2019年再次当选-这是70年来唯一一位两次当选的议长，此前她在2010年共和党重新获得众议院多数席位时失去了这一席位。她已经领导众议院民主党19年了，此前她曾担任众议院民主党党鞭。她在2002年成为民主党的重要人物，此前她鞭笞党内大多数人反对她的导师、密苏里州少数党领袖迪克·格普哈特(Dick Gephardt)与乔治·w·布什(George W. Bush)政府共同起草的伊拉克战争决议。当格普哈特下台去竞选总统时，她成了少数党领袖。
“这是一个历史性的时刻，”她在首次接受议长槌后发表讲话说。“这是国会的一个历史性时刻。对美国女性来说，这是一个历史性的时刻。”
她稳步上升到权力的特点是她对内部政治的稳定控制，以及她团结民主党冲突派系以实现立法成功的能力。
记者苏珊·佩奇(Susan Page)是众议院议长传记的作者，她在2021年4月接受美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)“发电站政治”播客采访时，称佩洛西是“政治内幕游戏的大师”。
“她不太喜欢公开的东西。她不擅长发表演讲，当她即席发言时，她会犯错误——她是政治内幕游戏和立法领导人的大师，”佩奇说，并指出佩洛西在共和党人试图指责她时支持加州民主党众议员马克辛·沃特斯。
在书中，佩奇透露佩洛西原本计划在2016年大选后下台，但在前总统唐纳德·特朗普当选后改变了主意。
2019年，佩洛西领导了导致历史上第三次总统弹劾的调查，此前特朗普在2016年总统选举中寻求外国干预，并扣留了国会对乌克兰的拨款援助。
In this Oct. 17, 2013 file photo House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly news conference in the Capitol.
比尔·克拉克/CQ-点名公司
2021年，佩洛西再次领导了特朗普的第二次弹劾，此前他的支持者在特朗普试图推翻的2020年总统选举后对美国国会大厦发动了暴力叛乱。然后，她领导众议院成立了一个两党特别委员会，调查1月6日的袭击事件。
值得注意的是，当佩洛西在周四的告别演讲中标志着她的职业成就时，她没有提到特朗普，而是提到了她“喜欢”与之合作的其他总统。
佩洛西说:“我很高兴与三位总统合作，与乔治·布什总统一起实现了对清洁能源的历史性投资，与巴拉克·奥巴马总统一起转变了医疗改革，并与乔·拜登总统一起打造了从基础设施到医疗保健到气候行动的未来。”。
在“发电站政治”中，佩奇提到了佩洛西考虑下台的另一个时间——在2010年选举后，共和党重新夺回了众议院。
佩洛西几十年来一直是一个政治人物，是托马斯·德·亚历山德罗(Thomas D'Alesandro Jr .)的女儿，小托马斯·德·亚历山德罗在国会代表巴尔的摩市五届后，担任了巴尔的摩市市长12年。
多年来，佩洛西一直是共和党嘲笑的对象，她的形象多年来在共和党竞选广告中比大多数其他人都更受讽刺。10月份，当她结婚近60年的丈夫遭到有针对性的袭击时，这种情况达到了顶点。
两人于1961年在华盛顿特区的乔治敦大学相遇，育有五个子女和九个孙辈。佩洛西在三藩市抚养他们的孩子，并在她家成立了一个民主党俱乐部，直到1976年她36岁时开始为加州州长杰里·布朗的总统竞选工作。
到1981年，她是加利福尼亚州的民主党主席。在她最小的孩子上大学后，佩洛西竞选国会议员，并于1978年6月宣誓就职。
Nancy Pelosi's historic role as first female House speaker
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi strode into the Capitol on Thursday morning dressed in a suffragist-white pantsuit, flanked by top aides as her filmmaker daughter, Alexandra, who has for three decades documented her mother's life and career, trailed behind holding a camera, recording her latest historic moment.
Now 82, the first and only woman elected as House speaker, second in line to the presidency and the highest-ranking woman in American government, commanded even more attention than usual as she slid through waves of press who bombarded her with questions about her political future -- just hours before her farewell speech after nearly two decades as the top Democratic leader.
Pelosi, who in the past month has both endured the loss of a Democratic majority in the House and a violent attack of her 82-year-old husband Paul in their San Francisco home -- an assault intended for her, police said -- learned on Wednesday that she'd need to relinquish the gavel to Republicans. Now, her stepping aside to make room for new generation of House leaders is official, even though for now she will remain in Congress.
"History will note she is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history," Biden said.
"With Nancy, you see a father's daughter who learned by his side how to win and govern. With her leading the way, you never worry about whether a bill will pass," he said. "If she says she has the votes, she has the votes. Every time."
In his statement, Biden credited Pelosi with being the "singular force" in securing "once-in-a-generation bills that will define our nation for decades to come," including the Inflation Reduction Act, infrastructure investment, the CHIPS and Science Act and gun legislation, among others.
Pelosi has represented California's 12th Congressional District, encompassing San Francisco, for 35 years.
She was elected as first female speaker in 2007 and again in 2019 -- the only speaker in 70 years to have won the office twice, after having lost the spot when Republicans regained the House majority in 2010. She has led House Democrats for 19 years -- previously having served as House Democratic whip. She rose to Democratic prominence in 2002, after whipping the majority of the party against an Iraq War resolution that her mentor, Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, crafted with President George W. Bush's administration. She became minority leader when Gephardt stepped down to run for president.
"This is an historic moment," she said in a speech after accepting the speaker's gavel for the first time. "It's an historic moment for the Congress. It's an historic moment for the women of America."
Her measured rise to power has been characterized by her steady command of inside politics and her ability unite conflicting factions of Democrats in order to achieve legislative success.
Journalist Susan Page, the author of a biography about the House speaker, called Pelosi a "master of the inside game of politics" in an April 2021 interview with ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" podcast.
"She's not so great about the public stuff. She's not great at giving a speech, she can stumble when she speaks extemporaneously -- she is a master of the inside game of politics and of being a legislative leader," Page said, noting that Pelosi stood up for California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters when Republicans tried to censure her.
In the book, Page reveals that Pelosi originally planned to step down after the 2016 election but changed her mind after former President Donald Trump was elected.
In 2019 Pelosi led the investigation that resulted in the third presidential impeachment in history, following Trump’s moves to solicit foreign intervention in the 2016 presidential election and withhold congressionally appropriated assistance to Ukraine.
Pelosi again headed Trump’s second impeachment in 2021, after his supporters mounted a violent insurrection against the U.S. Capitol following the 2020 presidential election that Trump sought to overturn. She then led the House in creating a bipartisan select committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack.
Notably, as Pelosi marked her career accomplishments during her farewell speech on Thursday, she omitted any mention of Trump while noting the other presidents whom she had "enjoyed" working with.
"I have enjoyed working with three presidents achieving historic investments in clean energy with president George Bush, Transformed health care reform with President Barack Obama and forging the future from infrastructure to healthcare to climate action with President Joe Biden," Pelosi said.
On "Powerhouse Politics," Page brought up another time Pelosi was thinking about stepping down -- after the 2010 election when Republicans retook the House.
Pelosi has been a political fixture for decades and is the daughter of Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., who served as mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress.
For years, Pelosi has long been the subject of Republican ridicule, her image satirized more than most others for years in GOP campaign ads. It came to a head in October, when her husband of almost 60 years was subject to a targeted attack.
The two met in Washington, D.C., at Georgetown University in 1961 and have five children and nine grandchildren. Pelosi raised their children in San Francisco and started a Democratic Party club at her home, until she began working for the presidential campaign of California Gov. Jerry Brown in 1976, when she was 36.
By 1981, she was the Democratic Party chair for the state of California. After her youngest child left for college, Pelosi ran for Congress and was sworn in June 1978.
