Veteran Democratic lawmaker Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker of the House Thursday for the second time in her political career, a striking comeback for the only woman ever to hold the post.
The convening of the new Congress ushers in an era of divided government in Washington, with Pelosi and her Democrats eager to confront Republican President Donald Trump and help their party mount a successful challenge for the White House in 2020.
The newly elected Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said Thursday she was under “no illusions” that working with Republicans in a divided US government will be easy.
“We have no illusions that our work will be easy, that all of us in this chamber will always agree,” Pelosi said after accepting the speaker’s gavel.
“But let each of us pledge that when we disagree, we will respect each other and we will respect the truth,” the Democrat from California said.
Pelosi was elected speaker in the 435-seat House on Thursday after Democrats gained 40 seats in November midterm elections to seize control of the chamber from President Donald Trump’s Republicans.
