Nancy Pelosi Fast Facts

Here’s a look at the life of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a US representative from California.

Personal:

Birth date: March 26, 1940

Birth place: Baltimore, Maryland

Birth name: Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro

Father: Thomas D’Alesandro, Baltimore mayor and US congressman

Mother: Annunciata (Lombardi) D’Alesandro

Marriage: Paul F. Pelosi (1963-present)

Children: Nancy, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul and Alexandra

Education: Trinity College, Washington, DC (Now Trinity Washington University), A.B. in Political Science, 1962

Religion: Roman Catholic

Other Facts:

First woman to lead a major congressional party.

First female speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Timeline:

1977-1981 – Chair, Northern California Democratic Party.

1981-1983 – Chair, California State Democratic Party.

1984 – San Francisco Democratic National Convention Host Committee chairwoman.

1985-1986 – Finance chairwoman, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

June 2, 1987 – Wins a special election in California’s 5th Congressional District, filling the seat of Representative Sala Burton.

1987-1993 – Represents California’s 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.

January 12, 1991 – Votes against authorizing the use of force in Iraq (House Resolution 77).

1993-2013 – Represents California’s 8th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.

2001 – Becomes the first woman to be elected House minority whip.

October 2002 – Votes against authorizing the use of military force in Iraq.

November 14, 2002 – Is elected House minority leader by fellow Democrats and becomes the highest-ranking woman in congressional history.

November 7, 2006 – Democrats win a majority in the House. Pelosi becomes the speaker of the House when the new congress begins in January 2007. She is the first female speaker of the House and the first woman to be as high in the line of succession to the presidency (second behind the vice president).

January 4, 2007-January 3, 2011 – Speaker of the House.

April 1-6, 2007 – Pelosi leads a bipartisan delegation from the House on a trip through the Middle East. The group travels to Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia, meeting with heads of state.

November 4, 2008 – Is reelected with more than 70% of the vote.

February 18, 2009 – Meets with Pope Benedict XVI.

February 2009 – Leads a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and meets with President Hamid Karzai.

March 21, 2010 – Pelosi leads the House in passing the health care reform bill proposed by President Barack Obama.

November 17, 2010 – In a 150-43 vote, Pelosi is elected to serve as minority leader in the 112th Congress.

2013-present – Represents California’s 12th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.

January 3, 2013 – Pelosi challenges John Boehner for speaker of the House but loses 220-192. Instead, she is reelected as House minority leader.

November 4, 2014 – Is reelected with more than 82% of the vote.

November 30, 2016 – Is reelected House Democratic leader.

January 3, 2017 – Is reelected as House minority leader.

January 18, 2018 – VH1 announces that Pelosi will be a guest judge on season 3 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”

February 7, 2018 – Pelosi sets the record for the longest speech on the House floor, according to the House Historian’s records. She speaks continuously for a little over eight hours to oppose the budget deal to lift spending caps and avert a government shutdown – because the plan does not address immigration issues.

March 7, 2018 – Donates her speaker’s gavel, among other items, to the Smithsonian in honor of Women’s History Month.

January 3, 2019 – Is officially elected the new House speaker in a majority vote by the House of Representatives on the first day of the 116th Congress.

January 23, 2019 – President Donald Trump declares his annual State of the Union address “canceled” after Pelosi sends word, she will bar him from delivering the speech in the House chamber while parts of the government remain shut down.

September 24, 2019 – Pelosi announces the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

February 4, 2020 – After Trump appears to ignore Pelosi’s attempt at a handshake prior to his State of the Union address, she can be seen on camera stoically ripping up her copy of the speech once he has concluded.

January 1, 2021 – Pelosi’s home is vandalized, according to police. The damage occurs after the Senate stalls on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000. The home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the other highest-ranking member of Congress, is vandalized the next day.

January 3, 2021 – Is reelected House speaker.

January 25, 2022 – Announces that she plans to run for reelection.

April 7, 2022 – Pelosi tests positive for Covid-19.

April 30-May 2, 2022 – Pelosi leads a congressional delegation to Ukraine and Poland and meets with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

August 2, 2022 – Despite China’s threats of retaliation over the visit, Pelosi lands in Taipei. It is the first time in 25 years that a US House speaker has visited Taiwan.

October 28, 2022 – Pelosi’s husband Paul is attacked with a hammer at the couple’s home in San Francisco by a male assailant. According to court documents, the assailant who attacked him was searching for the speaker of the House.