Nancy Pelosi steps down as top Democrat in US House after Republican victory

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that she will not seek a leadership position in the new Congress, a pivotal realignment making way for a new generation of leaders after Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections.

Pelosi announced in a spirited speech on the House floor that she will step aside after leading Democrats for nearly 20 years and in the aftermath of the brutal attack on her husband, Paul, last month in their San Francisco home.

The California Democrat, who rose to become the nation's first woman to wield the speaker's gavel, said she would remain in Congress as the representative from San Francisco, a position she has held for 35 years, when the new Congress convenes in January.

“Now we must move boldly into the future,” Pelosi said.

“I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi said. "For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.” She received a standing ovation after her remarks, and members one by one went up to offer her hugs and well wishes.

It's an unusual choice for a party leader to stay on after withdrawing from congressional leadership but one befitting of Pelosi, who has long defied convention in pursuing power in Washington.

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Pelosi recapped her career, from seeing the Capitol the first time as a young girl with her father, a former congressman and mayor, to serving as speaker alongside three US presidents and doing “the people's work.” “Every day I am in power of the majestic miracle of American democracy,” she said.

Democrats cheered Pelosi as she arrived in the chamber at noon. On short notice, lawmakers filled the House, at least on the Democratic side, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined. The Speaker's Gallery filled with Pelosi staff and guest. Some Republicans, including some newly-elected members, also attended.

Earlier, Pelosi had noted in a statement after The Associated Press called control of the chamber that, in the next Congress, House Democrats will have “strong leverage over a scant Republican majority.” The first women to become speaker, and the only person in decades to be twice elected to the role, she has led Democrats through consequential moments, including passage of the Affordable Care Act with President Barack Obama and the impeachments of President Donald Trump.