110-580: Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( / p ə ˈ l oʊ s i / pə- LOH -see ; née D'Alesandro ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who served as the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives 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
220-466: A Bachelor of Arts in political science . Pelosi interned for Senator Daniel Brewster (D-Maryland) in the 1960s alongside future House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer . After moving to San Francisco , Pelosi became friends with 5th district congressman Phillip Burton and began working her way up in Democratic politics. In 1976, she was elected as a Democratic National Committee member from California,
330-577: A man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
440-485: A simple majority of the present members or other criteria adopted by the House according to Article One, Section 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution . Most impeachments have involved alleged crimes committed while in office, but there is no requirement for the misconduct to be an indictable crime . Some officials have been impeached and convicted for crimes committed before taking office, and there have been instances where
550-469: A special election to fill the remainder of her husband's congressional term. She was then reelected to two more terms in her own right. Burton became ill with cancer in late 1986 and decided not to run for reelection in 1988. She wanted Pelosi to succeed her, guaranteeing Pelosi the support of the Burtons' contacts. Burton died on February 1, 1987, one month after being sworn in for a second full term. Pelosi won
660-583: A "horrible approval rating with the rest of America". Bresnahan wrote that Pelosi's leadership and the legislative agenda she advanced had significantly contributed to the party's loss of its House majority, citing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as an example of legislation that hurt the Democrats electorally in 2010. Bresnahan also believed that, ahead of the 2010 elections, Pelosi had "disastrously" misread public opinion, and that Pelosi had been
770-463: A 37–29 vote that it had jurisdiction to try Belknap notwithstanding his resignation, but ultimately acquitted him after trial. The permissibility of trying a former official was a major issue in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump , which commenced 20 days after Trump's term in office expired, although Trump's impeachment itself occurred while he was president. By a 55–45 vote, the Senate rejected
880-662: A Democrat, was elected Baltimore City Council president and later served as mayor from 1967 to 1971. Pelosi helped her father at his campaign events, and she attended President John F. Kennedy 's inaugural address in January 1961. In 1958, Pelosi graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame , an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore. In 1962, she graduated from Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University ) in Washington, D.C., with
990-539: A band of interested parasites and informers, ever ready, for their own advantage, to swear before ex parte committees to pretended private conversations between the President and themselves, incapable, from their nature, of being disproved; thus furnishing material for harassing him, degrading him in the eyes of the country ... He maintained that the House of Representatives possessed no general powers to investigate him, except when sitting as an impeaching body. When
1100-499: A federal public official is rare, demands for impeachment, especially of presidents, are common, going back to the administration of George Washington in the mid-1790s. While almost all of them were abandoned as soon as they were introduced, several did have their intended effect. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas both resigned in response to the threat of impeachment hearings, and most famously, President Richard Nixon resigned from office after
1210-484: A former official was tried after leaving office. The official who is impeached may continue to serve their term until a trial leads to a judgement that directs their removal from office or until they leave office through other means, such as resignation. A two-thirds majority of the senators present at the trial is required for conviction according to Article One, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution . The nature of
SECTION 10
#17330852483221320-564: A gay man as her congressional office's director of AIDS policy. In her first floor speech, Pelosi promised that she would be an advocate in the fight against what she called "the crisis of AIDS." With great stigma around the subject, some in her party privately chastised her for publicly associating herself with it. Pelosi co-authored the Ryan White CARE Act , which allocated funding dedicated to providing treatment and services for those impacted by HIV/AIDS. President George H. W. Bush signed
1430-457: A high level of political polarization in the United States. In November 2010, Brian Naylor of NPR opined that: During Nancy Pelosi's four years as speaker of the House, Congress approved the health care overhaul—widely considered the most significant piece of domestic legislation since Medicare—along with an $ 800 billion measure to stimulate the economy and a multi-billion-dollar rescue of
1540-460: A large number of campaign volunteers, and fundraised prolifically for her campaign. Pelosi has continued to represent approximately the same area of San Francisco for her entire congressional career, despite the boundaries shifting marginally in decennial post- reapportionment redistrictings . This area has been represented in the House by Democrats uninterruptedly since 1949, and is strongly Democratic-leaning (as of 2006, 13% of registered voters in
1650-434: A lower standard would be appropriate to better serve the purpose of defending the community against abuse of power, since the defendant does not risk forfeiture of life, liberty, or property , for which the reasonable doubt standard was set. In drawing up articles of impeachment , the House has placed little emphasis on criminal conduct. Less than one-third of the articles that the House have adopted have explicitly charged
1760-402: A motion asserting that the trial was unconstitutional. The Constitution does not limit the number of times an individual may be impeached. As of January 2024 , Donald Trump is the only federal officer to have been impeached more than once . At the federal level, the impeachment process is typically a three-step procedure. The first phase is typically an impeachment inquiry , though this
1870-516: A play on President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's promise for quick action to combat the Great Depression during his "first hundred days" in office. Newt Gingrich, who became speaker of the House in 1995, had a similar 100-day agenda to implement his Contract with America . On January 5, 2007, reacting to suggestions from Bush's confidants that he would increase troop levels in Iraq (which he announced in
1980-403: A poor orator. Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in
2090-674: A portion of their Social Security withholding into stock and bond investments. Pelosi strongly opposed the plan, saying there was no crisis, and as minority leader she imposed intense party discipline on her caucus, leading them to near-unanimous opposition to the proposal, which was defeated. In the wake of Bush's 2004 reelection, several leading House Democrats believed they should pursue impeachment proceedings against him , asserting that he had misled Congress about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and violated Americans' civil liberties by authorizing warrantless wiretaps . In May 2006, with an eye on
2200-643: A position she would hold until 1996. She was elected as party chair for Northern California in 1977, and four years later was selected to head the California Democratic Party , which she led until 1983. Subsequently, Pelosi served as the San Francisco Democratic National Convention Host Committee chairwoman in 1984, and then as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee finance chair from 1985 to 1986. Phillip Burton died in 1983 and his wife, Sala Burton , won
2310-532: A press conference in which she endorsed Murtha's proposal. Some critics believed that Pelosi's support for a troop withdrawal would prevent the Democrats from winning a House majority in the 2006 elections . During her time as minority leader, Pelosi was not well known to much of the American public. Before the 2006 elections, Republicans made a concerted effort to taint public perception of her, running advertisements assailing her. Advertisements demonizing Pelosi became
SECTION 20
#17330852483222420-547: A resolution adopted by the full House of Representative. An impeachment resolution may first pass through a House committee before the full House votes on it. The type of impeachment resolution determines the committee to which it is referred. A resolution impeaching a particular individual is typically referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary . A resolution to authorize an investigation regarding impeachable conduct
2530-403: A routine part of Republican advertising in subsequent elections. For instance, during the 2022 election cycle, Republicans ran more than $ 50 million in ads that negatively characterized or invoked Pelosi, and in the 2010 cycle, they spent more than $ 65 million on such ads. In the 2006 elections, the Democrats took control of the House, picking up 30 seats, the party's largest House seat gain since
2640-411: A speech a few days later), Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid condemned the plan. They sent Bush a letter reading: [T]here is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain. ... Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe
2750-401: Is being served; and unless Congress both scrutinize these things and sift them by every form of discussion, the country must remain in embarrassing, crippling ignorance of the very affairs which it is most important that it should understand and direct. The informing function of Congress should be preferred even to its legislative function. Impeachment proceedings may be requested by a member of
2860-517: Is not a required stage. The two stages constitutionally required for removal are impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial by the United States Senate. A number of rules have been adopted by the House and Senate and are honored by tradition. Jefferson's Manual , which is integral to the Rules of the House of Representatives, states that impeachment is set in motion by charges made on
2970-416: Is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote
3080-418: Is the proper duty of a representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk much about what it sees. It is meant to be the eyes and the voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its constituents. Unless Congress have and use every means of acquainting itself with the acts and the disposition of the administrative agents of the government, the country must be helpless to learn how it
3190-474: The 1974 elections held in the wake of the Watergate scandal . The party's House majority meant that as the party's incumbent House leader, Pelosi was widely expected to become speaker in the next Congress. On November 16, 2006, the Democratic caucus unanimously nominated her for speaker. Pelosi supported her longtime friend John Murtha for House majority leader, the second-ranking post in the House. His competitor
3300-598: The Affordable Care Act , when it seemed doomed to defeat. After Republican Scott Brown won Democrat Ted Kennedy 's former Senate seat in the January 2010 Massachusetts special election , costing Democrats their 60-seat filibuster -proof majority, Obama agreed with his then chief of staff Rahm Emanuel 's idea to do smaller initiatives that could pass easily. But Pelosi dismissed Obama's compunction, mocking his scaled-back ideas as "kiddie care". After convincing him that this
3410-599: The House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee . In 2001, Pelosi was elected the House minority whip, second-in-command to Minority Leader Dick Gephardt . She was the first woman in U.S. history to hold that post. Pelosi defeated John Lewis and Steny Hoyer for the position. A strong fundraiser, she used campaign contributions to help persuade other members of Congress to support her candidacy. In 2002, Pelosi opposed
Nancy Pelosi - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-566: 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 . Pelosi was born and raised in Baltimore , and is the daughter of mayor and congressman Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She graduated from Trinity College, Washington , in 1962 and married businessman Paul Pelosi
3630-460: The Iraq Resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq , which passed the House on a 296–133 vote. She said, "unilateral use of force without first exhausting every diplomatic remedy and other remedies and making a case to the American people will be harmful to our war on terrorism." In November 2002, after Gephardt resigned as House minority leader to seek
3740-797: The Senate acquitted Trump both times. She participated in the passage of the Biden administration 's landmark bills, including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 , the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , the CHIPS and Science Act , the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 , and the Respect for Marriage Act . In the 2022 midterm elections , Republicans narrowly regained control of the House for
3850-507: The Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née
3960-466: The dean of the House of Representatives traditionally does. Pelosi was the first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian-American to hold the speakership. She was also the second speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains . The first was Washington 's Tom Foley , the last Democrat to hold the post before Pelosi. During her speech, she discussed the historical importance of being
4070-427: The invasion of Cambodia . Within the executive branch, any "principal officer" appointed by the president, including a head of an agency such as a Secretary, Administrator, or Commissioner, is a "civil officer of the United States" subject to impeachment. At the opposite end of the spectrum, lesser functionaries, such as federal civil service employees, do not exercise "significant authority", and are not appointed by
4180-416: The marble ceiling . For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them. She also said Iraq was the major issue facing the 110th Congress while incorporating some Democratic Party beliefs: The election of 2006 was a call to change—not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about
4290-471: The special election to succeed her, defeating Democratic San Francisco supervisor Harry Britt on April 7, 1987, and Republican Harriet Ross in a June 2 runoff. Pelosi took office a week later. In the primary, Britt, a gay man, had courted San Francisco's sizable homosexual population by arguing that he would be better than Pelosi at addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Pelosi had held many campaign events, amassed
4400-423: The "earliest predictable date". Pelosi initially declined to commit to supporting Murtha's proposal. Speaker Dennis Hastert soon brought to the floor a vote on a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops, seeking to trap Democrats into taking a more radical stance. Pelosi led Democrats in voting against the resolution, which failed in a 403–3 floor vote. Roughly two weeks later, Pelosi held
4510-449: The 17th and 18th centuries, is corrupt activity by those who have special duties that are not shared with common persons. Toward the end of the 18th century, "high crimes and misdemeanors" acquired a more technical meaning. As Blackstone says in his Commentaries : "The first and principal high misdemeanor ... was mal-administration of such high offices as are in public trust and employment." The phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors"
Nancy Pelosi - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-400: The 2008 election, she withstood a challenge for her seat by antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan , who ran as an independent primarily because of Pelosi's refusal to pursue impeachment. Before the midterm elections, Pelosi announced that if Democrats gained a House majority, they would push through most of their agenda during the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress. The "first hundred hours" was
4730-463: The 2010 elections on anti-Pelosi advertisements. Pelosi has continued to be a fixture of Republican attack. Ads demonizing her have been credited with fostering intense right-wing ire toward her, and have been seen as one of the top factors in her unpopularity with the public. Shortly after being reelected in 2004, President Bush claimed a mandate for an ambitious second-term agenda and proposed reforming Social Security by allowing workers to redirect
4840-450: The Congress and questioning its legislative authority, refusing to follow laws, and diverting funds allocated in an army appropriations act, each of which brought the presidency "into contempt, ridicule, and disgrace". A number of individuals have been impeached for behavior incompatible with the nature of the office they hold. Some impeachments have addressed, at least in part, conduct before
4950-558: The Congressional Research Service, and the current version Impeachment and Removal dates from October 2015. While this document is only staff recommendation, as a practical matter, today it is probably the single most influential definition of "high Crimes and Misdemeanors". The Senate has formal Rules and Procedures of Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials . While the actual impeachment of
5060-533: The Court permitted Congress to punish contempt, when a person refused to answer questions while testifying under subpoena by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The Court explained that although "Congress may not constitutionally require an individual to disclose his ... private affairs except in relation to ... a valid legislative purpose", such a purpose was present. Congress's "wide power to legislate in
5170-558: The Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election , Pelosi was elected to replace him, becoming the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress. In the campaign to succeed Gephardt as the House Democratic Caucus 's leader, Pelosi was challenged by Harold Ford Jr. and Marcy Kaptur . Kaptur withdrew her candidacy for the position before the November 15, 2002, caucus vote, and Pelosi defeated Ford 117–29 in
5280-528: The House Democrats and became House minority leader for a second time. In the 2018 midterm elections , Democrats regained majority control of the House, and Pelosi was again elected Speaker , becoming the first former speaker to reclaim the gavel since Sam Rayburn in 1955. During her second speakership, the House twice impeached President Donald Trump , first in December 2019 and again in January 2021 ;
5390-511: The House Judiciary Committee had already reported articles of impeachment to the floor. In advance of the formal resolution by the full House to authorize proceedings, committee chairmen have the same power for impeachment as for any other issue within the jurisdiction of the committee: to investigate, subpoena witnesses, and prepare a preliminary report of findings. For example: Targets of congressional investigations have challenged
5500-523: The House Judiciary Committee prepared a report, Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment . The primary focus of the Report is the definition of the term "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and the relationship to criminality, which the Report traces through history from English roots, through the debates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and the history of the impeachments before 1974. The 1974 report has been expanded and revised on several occasions by
5610-462: The House and Senate Banking Committees and then a Senate special committee investigated President and Mrs. Clinton's involvement in the Whitewater land deal and related matters. The Senate had an enabling resolution; the House did not. The Supreme Court has also explained that Congress has not only the power, but the duty, to investigate so it can inform the public of the operations of government: It
SECTION 50
#17330852483225720-556: The House majority in 2006, in her second term as minority leader Pelosi worked to criticize the Bush administration more effectively and to contrast the Democratic Party with it. As part of this, Pelosi voiced even harsher criticism of Bush's handling of the Iraq War. In November 2005, prominent congressional Democrat John Murtha proposed that the U.S. begin a withdrawal of troops from Iraq at
5830-591: The House of Representatives, either by presenting a list of the charges under oath or by asking for referral to the appropriate committee . The impeachment process may be requested by non-members. For example, when the Judicial Conference of the United States suggests a federal judge be impeached, a charge of actions constituting grounds for impeachment may come from a special prosecutor , the president, or state or territorial legislature , grand jury , or by petition . An impeachment proceeding formally begins with
5940-410: The House vested a select committee with subpoena power "to inquire whether an attempt was made by the late Secretary of War ... [to] fraudulently [award] ... a contract for supplying rations" to Native Americans and to "further ... inquire whether the President ... had any knowledge of such attempted fraud, and whether he disapproved or approved of the same." In the 1990s, first
6050-485: The House: The standard of proof required for impeachment and conviction is left to the discretion of individual representatives and senators, respectively. Defendants have argued that impeachment trials are in the nature of criminal proceedings, with convictions carrying grave consequences for the accused, and that therefore proof beyond a reasonable doubt should be the applicable standard. House Managers have argued that
6160-600: The Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members ... Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member" (see List of United States senators expelled or censured and List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded ). This allows each House to expel its own members without involving
6270-415: The President's private conduct, not to an abuse of his authority as President". The Constitution gives Congress the authority to impeach and remove "The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States" upon a determination that such officers have engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The Constitution does not articulate who qualifies as a "civil officer of
6380-586: The Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House is a reference source for information on the rules and selected precedents governing the House procedure, prepared by the House Parliamentarian. The manual has a chapter on the House's rules, procedures, and precedent for impeachment. In 1974, as part of the preliminary investigation in the Nixon impeachment inquiry, the staff of the Impeachment Inquiry of
6490-496: The Senate concluded that a Senator is not a "civil officer of the United States" for purposes of the Impeachment Clause, and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The House has not impeached a Member of Congress since. The constitutional text is silent on whether an officer can be tried after the officer resigns or his/her term ends. However, when the issue has arisen, the House has been willing to impeach after resignation, and
6600-464: The Senate has been willing to try the official after resignation. As noted, in 1797, the Senate continued impeachment proceedings against William Blount even after he had been expelled from office, dismissing the proceedings only after determining that a Senator is not a "civil officer of the United States". In 1876, William W. Belknap was impeached by the House of Representatives hours after resigning as United States Secretary of War . The Senate held by
6710-510: The Supreme Court decided in Nixon v. United States that it did not have the authority to determine whether the Senate properly "tried" a defendant. In 1970, then- House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford defined the criterion as he saw it: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history." Of the 22 impeachments voted by
SECTION 60
#17330852483226820-591: The Supreme Court has considered similar issues, it held that the power to secure "needed information ... has long been treated as an attribute of the power to legislate. ... [The power to investigate is deeply rooted in the nation's history:] It was so regarded in the British Parliament and in the colonial Legislatures before the American Revolution, and a like view has prevailed and been carried into effect in both houses of Congress and in most of
6930-402: The United States". Federal judges are subject to impeachment. In fact, 15 of 20 officers impeached, and all eight officers removed after Senate trial, have been judges. The most recent impeachment effort against a Supreme Court justice that resulted in a House of Representatives investigation was against Associate Justice William O. Douglas . In 1970, Representative Gerald R. Ford (R-MI), who
7040-457: The United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason , Bribery , or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. The Constitution limits grounds of impeachment to "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors", but does not itself define "high crimes and misdemeanors". Congressional materials have cautioned that the grounds for impeachment "do not all fit neatly and logically into categories" because
7150-477: The United States; but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Article II, Section 2 provides: [The President] ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. Article II, Section 4 provides: The President , Vice President and all civil Officers of
7260-447: The absence of information respecting the conditions which the legislation is intended to affect or change." The Supreme Court held that it was irrelevant that the Senate's authorizing resolution lacked an "avow[al] that legislative action was had in view" because, said the Court, "the subject to be investigated was ... [p]lainly [a] subject ... on which legislation could be had" and such legislation "would be materially aided by
7370-510: The banks. It is a legislative legacy that rivals the accomplishments of any speaker in modern times. In November 2010, after Democrats lost their House majority, Politico writer John Bresnahan called Pelosi's record as speaker "mixed". He opined that Pelosi had been a powerful speaker, describing her as wielding "an iron fist in a Gucci glove" and having held "enormous power within the House Democratic Caucus", but noting that she had
7480-562: The bill into law in December 1990. In March 1988, Pelosi voted for the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override President Ronald Reagan 's veto). Pelosi helped shape the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act , working with California Senator Dianne Feinstein and New York Congressman Chuck Schumer . It became law in 1994. Pelosi also held chairs on important committees , such as
7590-425: The boundaries of Pelosi's district were Republican). It has not seen a serious Republican congressional contender since the early 1960s. Pelosi has been reelected to the House 18 times without any substantive opposition. Unlike in her 1987 campaign, Pelosi has not participated in candidates' debates in her reelection campaigns. In her first seven reelection campaigns (from 1988 through 2004), she won an average of 80% of
7700-474: The closed-door vote of caucus members. Critics of Pelosi characterized her as too liberal to be a successful House leader. As minority leader, Pelosi sharply criticized the handling of the Iraq War by President Bush and his administration, in 2004 saying Bush had demonstrated areas of "incompetence". In a relative surprise, the Democratic Party lost three seats in the 2004 House elections , which coincided with Bush's reelection as president . Focused on retaking
7810-433: The field of Communist activity ... and to conduct appropriate investigations in aid thereof[] is hardly debatable", said the Court, and "[s]o long as Congress acts in pursuance of its constitutional power, the Judiciary lacks authority to intervene on the basis of the motives which spurred the exercise of that power." Presidents have often been the subjects of Congress's legislative investigations. For example, in 1832,
7920-496: The first woman to hold the position of Speaker: This is a historic moment—for the Congress, and for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights. But women weren't just waiting; women were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and granddaughters, today, we have broken
8030-511: The first, McGrain v. Daugherty , the Court considered a subpoena issued to the brother of Attorney General Harry Daugherty for bank records relevant to the Senate's investigation into the Department of Justice. Concluding that the subpoena was valid, the Court explained that Congress's "power of inquiry ... is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function", as "[a] legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in
8140-428: The floor, charges proffered by a memorial, a member's resolution referred to a committee, a message from the president, or from facts developed and reported by an investigating committee of the House. It further states that a proposition to impeach is a question of high privilege in the House and at once supersedes business otherwise in order under the rules governing the order of business. The House Practice: A Guide to
8250-560: The greatest in U.S. history, highlighting the passage of the Affordable Care Act ("a measure with far-reaching implications for our nation's health care policy"). He also praised Pelosi for occasionally allowing House passage of measures that had majority overall House support but were opposed by the majority of the Democratic House Caucus. He noted that she had occasionally allowed bills to move forward in such fashion despite
8360-557: The impeachment proceedings is remedial rather than punitive , with the only remedy being removal from office. Since all officers in the federal government are confirmed in the Senate, officers appointed under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution may also be disqualified from holding any other appointed office under the United States in the future. As the process is not punitive, an individual may also be subject to criminal or civil trial , prosecution , and conviction under
8470-550: The individuals assumed their positions: for example, Article IV against Judge Thomas Porteous related to false statements to the FBI and Senate in connection with his nomination and confirmation to the court. Conversely, not all criminal conduct is arguably impeachable: in 1974, the Judiciary Committee rejected an article of impeachment against President Nixon alleging that he committed tax fraud, primarily because that "related to
8580-534: The information which the investigation was calculated to elicit." Although "[a]n express avowal" of the Senate's legislative objective "would have been better", the Court admonished that "the presumption should be indulged that [legislation] was the real object." Two years later, in Sinclair v. United States , the Court considered investigation of private parties involved with officials under potential investigation for public corruption. In Sinclair , Harry F. Sinclair ,
8690-506: The law after removal from office. Additionally, the president is constitutionally barred from pardoning an impeached and convicted person to protect them from the consequences of a conviction in an impeachment trial, as the conviction itself is not a punishment. Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution provides: The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have
8800-532: The left. As they had in 2006, Republicans continued to run advertisements that demonized Pelosi. Before the 2010 House elections, the Republican National Committee prominently used a "Fire Pelosi" slogan in its efforts to recapture the House majority. This slogan was rolled out hours after the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . Republicans spent $ 65 million ahead of
8910-450: The most powerful woman in U.S. history and among the most powerful speakers of the previous 100 years. In March 2010, Mark Shields wrote, In the last four months, [Pelosi] has not once, not twice but on three separate occasions done what none of her predecessors—including legendary giants [ Tip O'Neill and Sam Rayburn ]—could ever do: persuade the House of Representatives to pass national health-care reform. Pelosi has proved herself to be
9020-543: The most powerful woman in U.S. political history. Later in 2010, Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor opined that Pelosi was the "most powerful House speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago", adding that she had also been "one of the most partisan". Scholars favorably assessed Pelosi's first speakership. In late 2010, Norman Ornstein , a congressional scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute , opined that despite polarized public opinion of Pelosi, "she's going to rank quite high in
9130-408: The need for a new direction than in Iraq. The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end. As speaker, Pelosi remained the leader of the House Democrats, as the speaker is considered the leader of the majority caucus. But by tradition, she did not normally participate in debate and almost never voted on the floor, though she had the right to do so as a member of the House. She
9240-507: The new Congress, ending her tenure as speaker. She subsequently retired as House Democratic leader. On November 29, 2022, the Steering and Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus named Pelosi "Speaker Emerita". Nancy Pelosi was born in Baltimore , Maryland , to an Italian-American family. She was the only daughter and the youngest of six children of Annunciata M. "Nancy" D'Alesandro (née Lombardi) and Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. Her mother
9350-494: The next year; the two had met while both were students. They moved to New York City before settling down in San Francisco with their children. Focused on raising her family, Pelosi stepped into politics as a volunteer for the Democratic Party in the 1960s. After years of party work, rising to chair the state party, she was first elected to Congress in a 1987 special election and is now in her 19th term. Pelosi steadily rose through
9460-512: The office. Until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021 , Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the presidential line of succession in U.S. history, as the speaker of the House is second in the line of succession. During her first speakership, Pelosi was a major opponent of the Iraq War as well as the Bush administration's attempts to partially privatize Social Security . She participated in
9570-470: The other chamber. In 1797, the House of Representatives impeached Senator William Blount of Tennessee. The Senate expelled Senator Blount under Article I, Section 5, on the same day. However, the impeachment proceeding remained pending (expulsion only removes the individual from office, but conviction after impeachment may also bar the individual from holding future office, so the question of further punishment remained to be decided). After four days of debate,
9680-431: The pantheon of modern speakers", declaring that the only speaker of the previous 100 years he would rank higher than Pelosi was Sam Rayburn . Catholic University of America political scientist Matthew Green opined that the 111th Congress had "been remarkable in its productivity—in both the number of bills enacted and their scope—and Pelosi shares much of the credit." Green considered Pelosi's tenure as speaker to be among
9790-715: The passage of the Obama administration's landmark bills , including the Affordable Care Act , the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act , the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , and the 2010 Tax Relief Act . Pelosi lost the speakership after the Republican Party retook the majority in the 2010 midterm elections , but she retained her role as leader of
9900-535: The power of Congress to investigate before a formal resolution commences impeachment proceedings. For example, President Buchanan wrote to the committee investigating his administration: I do, therefore, ... solemnly protest against these proceedings of the House of Representatives, because they are in violation of the rights of the coordinate executive branch of the Government, and subversive of its constitutional independence; because they are calculated to foster
10010-489: The president of an oil company, appealed his conviction for refusing to answer a Senate committee's questions regarding his company's allegedly fraudulent lease on federal oil reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming. The Court, acknowledging individuals' "right to be exempt from all unauthorized, arbitrary or unreasonable inquiries and disclosures in respect of their personal and private affairs", nonetheless explained that because "[i]t
10120-526: The president or an agency head. These employees do not appear to be subject to impeachment, though that may be a matter of allocation of House floor debate time by the Speaker, rather than a matter of law. The Senate has concluded that members of Congress (representatives and senators) are not "civil officers" for purposes of impeachment. As a practical matter, expulsion is effected by the simpler procedures of Article I, Section 5, which provides "Each House shall be
10230-404: The purpose of aiding the prosecution of pending suits, but the authority of that body, directly or through its committees, to require pertinent disclosures in aid of its own constitutional power is not abridged because the information sought to be elicited may also be of use in such suits." The Supreme Court reached similar conclusions in a number of other cases. In Barenblatt v. United States ,
10340-415: The ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected House minority whip in 2001 and elevated to House minority leader a year later, becoming the first woman to hold each of those positions in either chamber of Congress. In the 2006 midterm elections , Pelosi led the Democrats to a majority in the House for the first time in 12 years and was subsequently elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to hold
10450-401: The remedy of impeachment is intended to "reach a broad variety of conduct by officers that is both serious and incompatible with the duties of the office". Congress has identified three general types of conduct that constitute grounds for impeachment, although these categories should not be understood as exhaustive: "High crimes and misdemeanors", in the legal and common parlance of England in
10560-714: The sole Power of Impeachment. Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7 provide: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under
10670-450: The state Legislatures." The Supreme Court also held, "There can be no doubt as to the power of Congress, by itself or through its committees, to investigate matters and conditions relating to contemplated legislation." The Supreme Court considered the power of the Congress to investigate, and to subpoena executive branch officials, in a pair of cases arising out of alleged corruption in the administration of President Warren G. Harding . In
10780-592: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Federal impeachment in the United States In the United States, federal impeachment is the process by which the House of Representatives charges the president , vice president , or another civil federal officer for alleged misconduct . The House can impeach an individual with
10890-598: The upcoming midterm elections—which offered the possibility of Democrats taking back control of the House for the first time since 1994—Pelosi told colleagues that, while the Democrats would conduct vigorous oversight of Bush administration policy, an impeachment investigation was "off the table". A week earlier, she had told The Washington Post that although Democrats would not set out to impeach Bush, "you never know where" investigations might lead. After becoming speaker in 2007, Pelosi held firm against impeachment, notwithstanding strong support for it among her constituents. In
11000-453: The violation of a criminal statute or used the word "criminal" or "crime" to describe the alleged conduct. Officials have been impeached and removed for drunkenness, biased decision-making, or inducing parties to enter financial transactions, none of which is specifically criminal. Two of the articles against President Andrew Johnson were based on rude speech that reflected badly on the office: President Johnson had made "harangues" criticizing
11110-472: The vote. At the time that Pelosi entered office, there were only 23 women in the House. When Pelosi entered office, the AIDS epidemic was at a dire point. San Francisco was greatly affected; its large population of gay men was the epidemic's initial epicenter. Beginning in her first term, Pelosi became a prominent congressional advocate on behalf of those impacted by HIV/AIDS. Shortly after she took office, she hired
11220-447: The way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection, and counter-terror. Pelosi was named Permanent Chair of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver , Colorado. Pelosi has been credited for spearheading Obama's health care law,
11330-444: Was House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer , who had been Pelosi's second-in-command since 2003. Hoyer was elected House majority leader over Murtha by a margin of 149–86. On January 4, 2007, Pelosi defeated Republican John Boehner of Ohio, 233 votes to 202, in the election for speaker of the House. Rahm Emanuel , the incoming chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, nominated Pelosi, and her longtime friend John Dingell swore her in, as
11440-438: Was a common phrase when the U.S. Constitution was written and did not require any stringent or difficult criteria for determining guilt, but meant the opposite. The crimes are called "high crimes" because they are carried out by a person in a position of public authority, or by misusing the position of public authority they have been given. It does not mean that the crimes themselves are unusual or "higher" types of crime. The phrase
11550-400: Was a matter of concern to the United States, ... the transaction purporting to lease to [Sinclair's company] the lands within the reserve cannot be said to be merely or principally ... personal." The Court also dismissed the suggestion that the Senate was impermissibly conducting a criminal investigation. "It may be conceded that Congress is without authority to compel disclosures for
11660-428: Was also not a member of any House committees, also in keeping with tradition. Pelosi was reelected speaker in 2009. During and after her first tenure as speaker, Pelosi was widely characterized as a polarizing political figure. Republican candidates often associated their Democratic opponents with her. Pelosi became the focus of heavy disdain by "mainstream" Republicans and Tea Party Republicans alike, as well as from
11770-572: Was born in Fornelli , Isernia , Molise , in Southern Italy , and immigrated to the U.S. in 1912; her father traced his Italian ancestry to Genoa , Venice and Abruzzo . When Pelosi was born, her father was a Democratic congressman from Maryland. He became Baltimore mayor seven years later. Pelosi's mother was also active in politics, organizing Democratic women and teaching her daughter political skills. Pelosi's brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III , also
11880-428: Was historically used to cover a very broad range of crimes. In 1974 the Senate's Judiciary Committee's stated that " 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors' has traditionally been considered a ' term of art ', like such other constitutional phrases as 'levying war' and 'due process'." Several commentators have suggested that Congress alone may decide for itself what constitutes a "high Crime or Misdemeanor", especially since
11990-434: Was their only shot at health care reform because of the large Democratic majorities in Congress, she rallied her caucus as she began an "unbelievable marathon" of a two-month session to craft the bill, which passed the House 219–212. In Obama's remarks before signing the bill into law, he called Pelosi "one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had." By early 2010, analysts were assessing Pelosi as possibly
12100-471: Was then House minority leader, called for the House to impeach Douglas. However, a House investigation led by Congressman Emanuel Celler (D-NY) determined that Ford's allegations were baseless. According to Professor Joshua E. Kastenberg at the University of New Mexico, School of Law, Ford and Nixon sought to force Douglas off the Court in order to cement the " Southern strategy " as well as to provide cover for
#321678