U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday announced that she will not seek re-election to the leadership of the Democratic caucus, making way for a younger generation of leadership in the party and as conservative Republicans take control of the chamber in January.
Pelosi remains the first woman to hold the Speaker mantle and her decision to step down from Democratic leadership is a watershed moment for the party as it prepares to elect its new top leaders the week after Thanksgiving.
"For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect, and I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility," Pelosi said on the House floor, greeted after by a standing ovation as she concluded her remarks.
Pelosi's decision comes the week that Democrats formally lost the House to Republicans following the Nov. 8 midterm elections. While Republicans emerged victorious, Democrats were able to prevent an onslaught of losses colloquially referred to as a "red wave."
Republicans are now likely to hold a narrow single-digit majority in the upcoming Congress, complicating their ability to govern as they seek to stymy President Joe Biden's legislative agenda during the final two years of his term.
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has locked down the party's leadership role ahead of the vote in January to establish the next Speaker. That vote will require him to secure the votes of nearly every House Republican with 218 votes needed to claim the mantle.
Republicans are slated to hold a handful more seats than the outright majority needed to claim control of the 435-member chamber.
