Still in charge

Nancy Pelosi is still in charge

The former speaker’s singular influence most recently played a role in President Biden’s decision to end his candidacy.

by Li Zhou

According to multiple reports, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — long known for her steely legislative prowess and confrontation of Republicans — was integral to the push to get President Joe Biden to reconsider his 2024 reelection bid.

“Nancy made clear that they could do this the easy way or the hard way,” a Democrat familiar with private conversations told Politico. “She gave them three weeks of the easy way. It was about to be the hard way.”

The hard way could have included Pelosi publicizing devastating internal polling that showed Biden losing states he easily won in 2020, according to the publication. And it could have led to Pelosi and other Democratic leaders stating plainly that it was time for Biden to go. Current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also reportedly had frank conversations with the president about dropping out, though Pelosi’s stance was viewed as one of the most impactful given her stature in the party.

Pelosi’s ability to influence the president was unsurprising due to the unique position of power she holds among Democrats, one she has earned after serving as House speaker for two hugely important terms, and as a lawmaker for more than three decades. In her time as speaker, she was known for overseeing the passage of critical policies like the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, and the American Rescue Plan, and for shepherding a fractious conference into uniting behind them. Over the years, she’s also built deep relationships across the party, and with different presidents — including Biden — while helming the House.

Pelosi’s successes (and wide-ranging ties) have all fed into her clout. And they point to how laser-focused she is on results, even at the expense of personal or political backlash. She’s known for sticking by her convictions, whether that involves confrontations with former President Donald Trump or using her political power to persuade other members to support her policies.

These tendencies were evident in how she handled Democrats’ Biden crisis, which saw her subtly pressuring the president to step aside on one of his favorite television shows, working her network, holding direct conversations, and finally, according to reports, issuing an ultimatum.

Her recent actions were likely spurred by a drive to win and the risk Biden could have posed to down-ballot House races, per polls. Overall, though, they mark the latest example of Pelosi’s singularly influential role within the party and the skillful ways in which she leverages that power.

How Pelosi became so influential

Pelosi’s willingness to take tough stances and the efficacy she’s had in doing so are trademarks of her leadership and a big reason she’s accrued so much respect. Simply put, she’s known for delivering.

Her passage of health care reform, a goal that stymied numerous Democratic speakers, for instance, is just one of many moves that cemented these credentials.

To rally a wide-ranging and divided Democratic conference around the Affordable Care Act, Pelosi spent countless hours on the phone, navigating members’ concerns, Molly Ball, a Wall Street Journal writer and author of Pelosi, a biography, previously told Vox. And she found specific arguments that would appeal to those who were wary of backing the bill. In the case of then-Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly, for example, Pelosi knew how important his Catholic background was to him, and she had the president of Notre Dame, his Catholic alma mater, put in a personal call.

Pelosi’s handling of that bill was illustrative of how committed she can be to an outcome, even if that goal comes with a high political price. “She ultimately was willing to lose the speakership if it meant that Americans would have health care in perpetuity,” said Ball. After the House passed the ACA in 2009, political backlash — which both Pelosi and then-President Barack Obama had anticipated — led to Democrats’ loss of the House in the 2010 midterm elections.

Her willingness to accept difficult consequences in order to reach her ultimate goal was reflected, too, in the tough conversations she took on with Biden, despite the reputational risks they could pose.

Beyond her successes in advancing policy and electoral wins, Pelosi is also known for how vocal she was as an antagonist to Trump. Her dedication to that role has fueled perceptions of her strength as a leader and added to the sense that she’s only prioritizing what it takes to prevent his return to power.

“She’s the single most consequential legislator of our time. So, you know, people trust her guidance, they trust her judgment. And she’s gotten more done than anybody else,” Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s former deputy chief of staff, told Vox.