House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that she would stand down from leading the House Democratic Caucus after two decades was greeted with applause from numerous Democrats who gathered to hear her speak on the House floor on Thursday, with members from both parties greeting the outgoing speaker and recognising her years of service.
Very few members of the House GOP Conference took time out of their day to watch the veteran lawmaker reveal her plans for the 118th Congress, but some Republican members took the occasion of the first woman to lead the House stepping down to issue crass missives on social media to celebrate her departure rather than her status as the first person since Sam Rayburn to lose — and regain — the speaker’s gavel.
