Progressive Policy Institute President Will Marshall released the following statement in reaction to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that she would step back from leadership in the 118th Congress:
“The Progressive Policy Institute is glad to join in today’s outpouring of tributes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“She was the first woman to be elected to the nation’s third highest constitutional office. Over the course of two decades as Speaker, she has served her country with consummate skill, integrity and patriotism.
“At the same time, she has also been a highly effective party leader: smart, disciplined, fair, open-minded and, when the occasion demanded it, tough as nails. In good times and bad, she helped to keep her often fractious party united and focused on doing the people’s business.
“It’s not easy to combine these roles, but for Nancy Pelosi public service and Democratic politics are family traditions. She was born Nancy D’Alesandro in Baltimore, where both her father and brother served as Mayor.
“We won’t forget, and we don’t think the American people will forget, the courageous way Speaker Pelosi defended our democracy when it came under attack by a deranged and lawless president on Jan. 6, 2021.”
