WASHINGTON (AP) Nancy Pelosi knew this moment would come, even if others had their doubts or worked to stop her.
Pelosi is poised to be elected today as House speaker, the only woman who has held the office and now one of few elected officials who will be returning to it. The last time a speaker regained the gavel was more than a half-century ago.
The California Democrat has spent her political career being underestimated, only to prove the naysayers wrong. In this case, it was by winning back the Democratic majority and amassing the votes for the speakers job.
In accepting the gavel, Pelosi will give a nod to the new era of divided government with a pledge to reach across the aisle in this chamber and across the divisions in this great nation, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks today.
The floor of this House must be Americas Town Hall: where the people will see our debates and where their voices will be heard and affect our decisions, she says.
In previewing Democratic priorities, she talks about lowering health care costs, investing in green infrastructure and restoring integrity to government.
We must be champions of the middle class and all those who aspire to it because the middle class is the backbone of democracy, she says.
Pelosi remains a highly polarizing figure, vilified by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal and a caricature of big government. But she is also a mother of five and a grandmother of nine who has shattered glass ceilings to become one of the most powerful politicians of the 21st century.
With President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans still controlling the Senate, Pelosis return to the speakers office to lead a Democratic majority with its biggest freshmen class since Watergate shakes up the dynamic in Washington even beyond the new era of divided government.
Pelosi has faced pressure from some incoming Democrats who have been willing to talk about the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Trump. Pelosi has called impeachment a divisive activity, and Democrats were cautious about mentioning the I word during the 2018 midterms for fear it would backfire politically.
But Pelosi did not shy away from it today in an interview airing on NBCs Today show.
We shouldnt be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldnt avoid impeachment for a political reason, she said, adding that she would wait for the findings of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.
Only the House can begin impeachment proceedings. And while Justice Department guidelines suggest a sitting president cant be indicted, Pelosi called that an open discussion.
Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president, she said.
Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing.
