![]() And in the darkest days of House history-the assassination attempts of Rep. She has overseen the passage of landmark legislation as Speaker, from the Affordable Care Act to legislation that saved the American economy-twice-at the start of the Great Recession and the recession associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. And, over the past 20 years, she raised over $1 billion dollars for Democrats’ electoral efforts. When the 118 th Congress is sworn in in January, she will be the fifth longest serving Speaker of the House of Representatives in history. She served as Democratic leader for 10 consecutive congresses (108 th-117 th), a tenure that will fall about a year short of Sam Rayburn’s record of just over 21 years. At nearly 13,000 days in office, she is the second longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. ![]() Her tenure by the numbers shows remarkable strength and power. When she had room to let more moderate or more progressive members vote no on legislation they opposed, they voted no. When disagreements were waged within her caucus, they were settled. When Nancy Pelosi needed to find votes, they were found. From the leadership elections held in advance of the 108 th Congress (2003-2005), to what is now her final term as Speaker in the 117 th Congress (2021-2023), she has never lost a leadership fight and rarely lost a legislative battle. Over time, the diversity of that caucus has ranged from Blue Dog moderate Democrats like Ron Kind (Wisc.), former representative and now Republican Gene Taylor (Miss.), and Heath Shuler (N.C.), to the original members of the proudly progressive squad of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). She has kept in line a sometimes-fractured House Democratic Caucus. ![]() You don’t need to be a San Francisco liberal to emulate her success in keeping House colleagues in line, raising huge sums of money for reelection, supporting candidates who will be team players, holding at bay resistance from within the ranks, and operating strategically with Senate leaders and presidents from the same or different parties. Any politician, regardless of party or ideology, should look to Nancy Pelosi as a leader to emulate. While Republicans have vilified her because of her political views and the policies she has pushed to passage, they missed an opportunity to learn from a role model. In the political arena, her foes have used her as a bogeyman of liberal politics, pushing her image in campaign commercials, radio ads, and direct mail. In many respects, Speaker Pelosi has been one of the most powerful leaders ever to hold the gavel.
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