Nancy Pelosi, icon of female power, will reclaim role as Speaker and seal a place in history

Nancy Pelosi will reclaim her former title as speaker of the House, the first lawmaker in more than half a century to hold the office twice. With the gavel in hand, she will cement her status as the highest-ranking and most powerful elected woman in American political history.

Written by Sheryl Gay Stolberg

There was a brief moment in Nancy Pelosi’s life when she worried she had too much power. She had so many titles in the California Democratic Party, including chairwoman, that she told Lindy Boggs, a Louisiana congresswoman, that she was thinking of giving some up.

That was in 1984, and Boggs “said, ‘Darlin’, no man would ever think that. Don’t you give anything up,’” Pelosi said in a recent interview, leaning forward as she mimicked Boggs’ Southern accent. “And then she said, ‘Know thy power.’”

More than three decades later, Pelosi is all but assured on Thursday of reclaiming her former title as speaker of the House, the first lawmaker in more than half a century to hold the office twice. With the gavel in hand, she will cement her status as the highest-ranking and most powerful elected woman in American political history.