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The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted on Tuesday evening to designate Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “Speaker Emerita,” as the longtime Democratic leader prepares to step away from the top brass of the caucus.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who was elected Wednesday to succeed Pelosi in the top spot in the caucus, offered the resolution during the panel’s meeting. Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who was chosen Wednesday to serve as the next Democratic whip, seconded the resolution.
The measure ultimately passed unanimously.
“Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi is the most consequential Speaker in American history and I am humbled by the opportunity to recognize her as Speaker Emerita,” Jeffries said.
“This honorific reflects Speaker Pelosi’s lifetime of service as a legendary legislator, notorious negotiator and a fabulous facilitator. Our Caucus and our country are better off for her leadership, without question, and this title is but a small token of our gratitude,” he added.
The move from the committee came nearly two weeks after Pelosi announced that she will not seek a position in Democratic leadership in the next Congress, putting a bookend on her historic, two-decade tenure at the top of the caucus.
