nancy pelosi committee assignments 2023

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Nancy Pelosi

California (CA) – 11th, Democrat

Hometown: San Francisco

Oath of Office: Jan. 07, 2023

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Democrats await key decisions on House Appropriations seats

Hoyer’s return to the committee would bring the total number of Democrats to 27, leaving no room for new members if Aguilar stays on. 

However, Adam B. Schiff , D-Calif., could throw a wrinkle into the committee membership if he decides to return to Appropriations, where he retains seniority rights from taking leave to serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., has vowed to remove Schiff from the Intelligence Committee, where Schiff has served as top Democrat since 2015. 

Jeffries wrote to McCarthy on Saturday urging the speaker, who makes appointments to the Intelligence Committee, to seat Schiff on it. 

Schiff signaled earlier this month that he was not eyeing a return to Appropriations, saying he is fully focused on remaining on Intelligence. A Schiff spokeswoman said McCarthy needs to formally remove him from the committee before the office is ready to discuss other potential committee assignments.  

Schiff is also on leave from the Judiciary Committee and could return to his seniority there instead of Appropriations if he loses his Intelligence seat. Democrats hopes McCarthy makes an announcement soon so they can resolve where Schiff and fellow California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell , whom McCarthy is also planning to boot from the Intelligence panel, will land. 

If Schiff returns to Appropriations, Joseph D. Morelle , D-N.Y., could lose his spot as the least-senior member. Morelle was appointed in September after former Rep. Charlie Crist , D-Fla., resigned to focus on his ultimately unsuccessful campaign for governor. 

Schiff’s return could also shake up the lineup of subcommittee ranking members. He would have the seniority to be the top Democrat on the State-Foreign Operations panel, a role currently held by  Barbara Lee of California. Both Schiff and Lee are expected to run for Senate. 

Regardless of Schiff’s decision, there likely won’t be room for new members on Appropriations, despite Democrats requesting seats on the popular panel. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sent a letter earlier this month expressing her interest in serving on the Appropriations Committee to “fight for investments in education, public health, the environment, infrastructure,” among other priorities. 

Omar wrote that she understands Appropriations seats are typically reserved for more senior members, but she believes she offers “a bold vision and unique background” that would benefit her as an appropriator “either in the 118th or in future Congresses.”

Omar also wants to continue serving on the Foreign Affairs and Education panels, but House Republicans are expected to try to vote her off Foreign Affairs. 

Ways and Means

House Ways and Means is keeping the same split it had last Congress, which means 25 seats for Republicans in the majority and 18 spots for Democrats now in the minority. Three Democrats on the panel didn’t seek reelection, so Democrats are left with 22 returning committee members.

After Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan F. Boyle took over as the top Democrat on the Budget Committee this year, he’s expected to step off Ways and Means but continue accruing seniority, which would account for one lost seat.

Democrats are expected to decide the remaining three exits based on seniority, but keep any members booted off involved in tax, trade and other issues before Ways and Means. A seniority-based decision would mean  Jimmy Gomez of California and  Steven Horsford of Nevada, along with Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett , would likely lose their spots.

Gomez and Horsford joined the panel in the same year as other Democrats, but have less seniority based on when they were elected to the House. Ways and Means includes four other California Democrats but no other lawmakers from Nevada.

Plaskett was the most recent Democratic addition to Ways and Means. Democrats tapped her for the seat in late 2020, and she touted her addition as the first delegate from a territory to be placed on the coveted panel. At the time, Plaskett pointed to the committee’s work on a range of issues, including the “rum cover over” that funnels rum tax revenue to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

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  Rep. Nancy Pelosi

Representative for California’s 11 th District

pronounced NAN-see // puh-LOH-see

Pelosi is the representative for California ’s 11 th congressional district ( view map ) and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 3, 2023. Pelosi is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. She is 84 years old.

She was previously the representative for California ’s 12 th congressional district as a Democrat from 2013 to 2022; the representative for California ’s 8 th congressional district as a Democrat from 1993 to 2012; and the representative for California ’s 5 th congressional district as a Democrat from 1987 to 1992.

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You are currently on the website GovTrack.us, which has no affiliation with Pelosi and is not a government website. Choose from the options above to find the right way to contact Pelosi.

Pelosi proposed $43 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2024, including:

• $10 million to Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy for “Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy”
• $5 million to City and County of San Francisco for “Harvey Milk Plaza/Castro Street Station Redesign”
• $5 million to San Francisco Fire Department for “San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) Fire Training Facility”

View all requests and justifications on Pelosi’s website »

View analysis and download spreadsheet from Demand Progress Education Fund »

These are earmark requests which may or may not survive the legislative process to becoming law. Most representatives from both parties requested earmarks for fiscal year 2024. Across representatives who requested earmarks, the median total amount requested for this fiscal year was $39 million.

Earmarks are federal expenditures, tax benefits, or tariff benefits requested by a legislator for a specific entity. Rather than being distributed through a formula or competitive process administered by the executive branch, earmarks may direct spending where it is most needed for the legislator's district. All earmark requests in the House of Representatives are published online for the public to review. We don’t have earmark requests for senators. The fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. Source: Appropriations.house.gov . Background: Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Pelosi is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Pelosi has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to May 2, 2024. See full analysis methodology .

Enacted Legislation

Pelosi was the primary sponsor of 9 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

• H.R. 3325 (117th): To award four congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
• H.R. 1085 (117th): To award three congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
• H.R. 3119 (111th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 867 Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, as the “Lim Poon Lee Post Office”.
• H.R. 3221 (110th): Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
• H.R. 5140 (110th): Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
• H.R. 1953 (109th): San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act
• H.R. 2457 (103rd): Winter Run Chinook Salmon Captive Broodstock Act of 1993

View All »

Does 9 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110 th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Pelosi recently introduced the following legislation:

• H.Res. 742: Expressing the profound sorrow of the House of Representatives on the death of …
• H.Res. 621: Expressing support for the designation of August 3, 2023, as “Tony Bennett Day”.
• H.Con.Res. 118 (117th): Authorizing the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony …
• H.Res. 626 (117th): Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the terrorist attacks …
• H.Res. 503 (117th): Establishing the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the …
• H.R. 3325 (117th): To award four congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police …
• H.R. 1085 (117th): To award three congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police …

Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.

Voting Record

Pelosi voted yea, pelosi voted nay, pelosi voted no, pelosi voted aye, missed votes.

From Jun 1987 to May 2024, Pelosi missed 1,130 of 17,665 roll call votes, which is 6.4%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:

• unitedstates/congress-legislators , a community project gathering congressional information
• The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
• United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
• Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
• GPO Member Guide for the photo
• GovInfo.gov , for sponsored bills

Pronunciation Guide

Nancy Pelosi is pronounced:

NAN-see // puh-LOH-see

The letters stand for sounds according to the following table:

Capital letters indicate a stressed syllable.

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Legislative updates, leadership of house and senate for 115th congress begins to take shape.

While there will be more shuffling up until the 115th convenes on Jan. 3, here is an outline of Senate and House committee assignments and leaders for the 115th Congress.

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January 3, 2023 Latest on the new Congress and House speaker vote

By Elise Hammond , Aditi Sangal , Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Pelosi just adjourned the 117th Congress

From CNN's Annie Grayer

Rep. Nancy Pelosi just adjourned the 117th Congress. She stood at the dais and received a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle.

Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, is in the gallery overlooking the House floor.

After announcing her decision to not run as House speaker , Pelosi was designated the status “Speaker Emerita” in December 2022. She won reelection during the midterm election and will still serve another term in Congress.

Biggs tells CNN he thinks McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes for the speakership

From CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi

Emerging from his office after a discussion with other GOP members opposed to Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, Rep. Andy Biggs told CNN that he thinks McCarthy still doesn't have 218 votes. 

Biggs said he's still running as a challenger to McCarthy but his guess is that "somebody else will emerge" who could get a consensus of votes. 

Asked who that might be or if perhaps Rep. Steve Scalise, Biggs replied:" I do have an idea" but said he would not share who. 

He predicted that the speaker vote will "go awhile."

Reps. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert and Chip Roy also left Biggs' office shortly before Biggs. 

Gaetz would only told CNN that McCarthy doesn't have the votes. He did not answer my other questions. 

After "intense" meeting, McCarthy criticizes opponents for looking out "for themselves, not for the country"

From CNN's Annie Grayer and Jessica Dean

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy emerged from the closed door GOP conference meeting and acknowledged it was "intense," but added that it was "intense for a purpose."

"There's times we're going to have to argue with our own members, if they're looking out for only positions for themselves, not for the country. For the last two months we worked together as a whole conference to develop rules that empower all members, but we're not empowering certain members over others" he said of his opponents.

Speaking about the list of demands he got last night, McCarthy said, "I was presented the only way to have 218 votes — if I provided certain members with certain positions certain gavels to take over certain committee to have certain budgets. And they even came to the position where one Matt Gaetz said, ‘I don't care if we go to plurality and we elect Hakeem Jeffries,’ and it hurts the new frontline members not to get reelected."

"Well, that's not about America, and I will always fight to put the American people first," McCarthy added. "Not a few individuals that want something for themselves. So we may have a battle on the floor. But the battle is for the conference and the country and that's fine with me."

Pressed on what he will do if it goes to multiple votes McCarthy said, "I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor. I don't have a problem getting a record for the most votes for speaker."

GOP hardliners say "nothing has changed" as McCarthy tells his conference he isn’t dropping out

From CNN's Manu Raju, Dana Bash, Kristin Wilson, Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona

The heated conference meeting among Republican lawmakers didn’t change GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s math problem: He doesn’t have 218 votes and the hardliners aren’t moving.

Republican Rep. Bob Good said, “nothing has changed” after the meeting, adding that he is still a "NO," no matter what. “I don’t think he won anybody over that he didn’t have already,” adding that they feel even more strongly that their “cause is just.”

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs says he is still running as an alternative and won’t drop out. That will siphon votes away from McCarthy.

Republican Matt Rosendale told CNN McCarthy "lied" in his remarks at the meeting. He made clear he's still opposed to McCarthy and said the meeting further inflamed tensions. 

Rep. Chip Roy wouldn’t say whether he will support McCarthy as speaker, adding that he wants “someone who will fight for the American people as much as fighting to be Speaker, and that’s what I’m trying to work for.”

Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, both opposed to McCarthy as speaker, went into Rep. Andy Biggs' office. Boebert told reporters that she "will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy"

Rep. Dan Bishop also came out in opposition to McCarthy after the meeting. He is one of the nine GOP lawmakers who wrote the Sunday letter saying concessions so far were not good enough.

But McCarthy told members he’s not dropping out.

“He says he’s not going anywhere,” Republican Brett Guthrie said of McCarthy. “I think Kevin should stay however long it takes.”

One GOP lawmaker says Freedom Caucus members couldn't say what they wanted from McCarthy. “When asked point blank what more they wanted HFC couldn’t answer. Says a lot.”

Another source says House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy pressed GOP Rep. Scott Perry on that and he wouldn’t say. 

Why 218 votes aren't always required to win the House speakership

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf

Republicans will   only have a slim   majority – 222 Republicans compared with 212 Democrats – which means Rep. Kevin McCarthy can’t afford many defections if he is to find the   218 votes needed   to make him speaker of the House.

But McCarthy does not technically need 218 votes to become speaker. A majority of those present and voting is required to get the   speakership, which is usually 218 lawmakers. But if enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected  with 216 votes in 2021 .

Former Speaker John Boehner won reelection to the post  with 216 votes in 2015  after beating back a conservative rebellion like the one McCarthy is dealing with now.

Most of the negotiation and arm-twisting happens long before the floor vote. Pelosi  got 220 votes in 2019  after turning most of the fellow Democrats who opposed her. She did so by agreeing to serve only another few years as speaker, a pledge she kept by announcing her decision in November to not seek reelection for   leadership.

Congressman-elect George Santos avoids reporters on Capitol Hill

From CNN's Kate Sullivan 

Embattled Congressman-elect George Santos did not answer any questions from reporters as he entered his office Tuesday morning before being sworn into Congress.   

The New York Republican saw reporters outside of his office from down the hall and immediately turned around and quickly walked away. 

Santos is facing mounting scrutiny and condemnation over lies about his biography and amid an  investigation by federal prosecutors  into his finances.

Just this morning, CNN reported that law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Santos.

Dilemma for GOP: If not McCarthy, then who?

From CNN's Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona and Lauren Fox

As House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to lock down the votes to become speaker, his top deputy has kept his head down.

Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 in the House GOP leadership, has made clear he supports McCarthy, and GOP sources say he has rejected pleas by hardliners to mount a challenge to the California Republican – all while taking steps to avoid being seen as plotting McCarthy’s demise.

But what is less clear: What Scalise will do if the race continues to drag out on Tuesday and  goes to multiple ballots  – and whether the Louisiana Republican will seek to maneuver his way into the speaker’s office if the stalemate persists. If McCarthy drops out of the race, Scalise is widely expected to run for the job, though sources close to the GOP leader say he plans to stay in the race as long as it takes to get the votes.

Yet another complicating factor: It is far from clear whether Scalise himself could get the 218 votes to win the speakership, underscoring the prospects that Tuesday could devolve into a long and drawn-out floor fight the chamber has not experienced in 100 years and one that could undercut Republicans’ ability to govern just as they come into power in the 118th Congress.

“Steve is trying to be very supportive,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a McCarthy supporter and Nebraska Republican. “He has been public that he is supporting McCarthy. I think someday he wants to be speaker so he’s got to be tactful.”

Others privately fault Scalise for not being more forceful in his support for McCarthy or insisting he would stick with the California Republican no matter how long it takes. And some Republican members say that will only hurt Scalise if he tries to become speaker now.

“I think Steve Scalise is going to have some problems,” one GOP member told CNN on Monday, adding: “If Kevin McCarthy doesn’t become speaker, then Steve Scalise has faint fingerprints on the dagger.”

To read more, click here .

Rep. Ralph Norman tells GOP he will vote for Andy Biggs on first ballot of House speaker election

From CNN's Annie Grayer and Lauren Fox

Rep. Ralph Norman, one of at least five lawmakers against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's speakership, announced in a closed-door meeting of Republican lawmakers that he will be voting for GOP Rep. Andy Biggs on the first ballot, a source tells CNN. 

Norman did not say what he would do after the first ballot, the source added.

If Republicans had won the House by a bigger margin, McCarthy wouldn't be in this position, Norman added.

Remember: This GOP meeting is happening ahead of the high-stakes House speaker vote , and CNN has reported that it is getting heated, with McCarthy, his supporters and opponents exchanging arguments.

McCarthy is facing a longshot challenge in the race from Biggs. McCarthy has defeated the Arizona congressman before – by a resounding vote of 188 to 31 in November when the House Republican conference voted for McCarthy to be its leader.

The House can't conduct business until the speaker vote is finished. Here's how the election will work.

From CNN's Melanie Zanona and Kristin Wilson

No other House business can be done until the speaker vote is finished, including swearing-in of the rest of the members. Until the speaker’s vote is decided, the clerk of the House is in charge of the chamber. 

At noon on Tuesday, the Clerk of the House – Cheryl Johnson — will gavel in the 118th Congress. They’ll do a prayer and the pledge, and then she will announce the certifications of the election of the 118th Congress have been received. 

Then they will have a quorum call. This is the first vote of the Congress. It’s a roll call vote. Members will vote present, they have to be in the chamber.

Then she will announce the vacancy of Virginia’s 4th Congressional District due to the death of Don McEachin.

The next order of business is the election of the House speaker . Democrats will place their party leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ name into nomination, and Republicans are expected to place Kevin McCarthy’s name. Rep. Andy Biggs is also expected to garner several votes in the first round. 

Then they’ll call the roll. Each member, when their name is called, will state the name of the person they are voting for. Can be one of the names in nomination, their own name, someone else’s name, or present, which is not a vote at all. 

The tellers will tally up the votes. The winner must have a majority of those voting for a person. Present votes subtract from that total, thus lowering the threshold for a majority of votes.

If no one amasses a majority of votes cast, it goes to a second ballot, and on and on. If it goes to multiple ballots, other candidates may have their names put in for nomination. 

If McCarthy doesn’t get the votes on the first ballot, there is the option to make a motion to adjourn, but it would take 218 votes to do that and Democrats are likely not inclined to help Republicans out in any way.

Historic context: There is no playbook for what the chamber will do if the speaker isn’t elected on the first ballot. The 1923 vote was decided on the ninth ballot, where they kept voting until a speaker was decided. The 1869 speaker vote lasted through 60 ballots over two months. This Congress may recess the chamber or they could continue voting. 

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House GOP rewards hard-liners, Santos with committee seats

The most far-right House Republicans, early opponents of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and even embattled new Rep. George Santos all are in line for coveted committee assignments. (Jan. 19)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., look at vote totals during the roll call vote on the motion to adjourn for the evening in the House chamber as the House meets for a second day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., talks to Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, after Gaetz voted “present” in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., departs Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., casts his vote for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., during the seventh round of voting on the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., turns as he speaks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., ahead of the 13th round of voting for speaker in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., casts his vote for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., during the seventh round of voting on the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., is interviewed as the House meets for the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Perry narrowly missed casting his vote because he was conducting the interview. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., nominates Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., for the ninth vote in the House chamber as the House meets for the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., at the beginning of an evening session after six failed votes to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., walks in the House chamber as the House meets for a second day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks to reporters after the House adjourned for the night, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., talks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., as Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., passes by after the House voted to adjourn for the evening in the House chamber as the House meets for a second day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in the House chamber as the House meets for the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most far-right House Republicans, early opponents of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and even embattled new Rep. George Santos all are in line for coveted committee assignments. Some are set to serve on the high-profile oversight committee investigating President Joe Biden’s administration.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona will get to serve on committees now that Republicans have dislodged Democrats from the majority. When Democrats were in charge, both lawmakers were booted from their assignments for being too extreme.

Santos, who has acknowledged lying to New York voters about his past, has picked up two committee assignments.

The full House Republican conference must ratify the recommendations, but that generally is a formality.

A look at who went where in the new House.

GREENE, GOSAR BACK ON COMMITTEES

Two years ago, Democrats under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi voted just weeks into the last Congress to remove Greene from both her committees . It was an extraordinary punishment that Democrats said she had earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Eleven Republicans joined 219 Democrats in backing Greene’s ejection from her committees.

This week, a GOP panel that selects most of the committee leaders and hands out committee assignments recommended that Greene serve on two important committees: Homeland Security and House Oversight and Accountability.

Greene, who is now one of McCarthy’s fiercest supporters, had embraced an array of conspiracy theories before winning election in 2020. For example, in November 2018, she talked about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, referring to a “so-called” plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She also “liked” a January 2019 Facebook post that called for “a bullet to the head” of Pelosi.

McCarthy, R-Calif., argued that the majority party in the House should not dictate how the minority disciplines its members. He described the removal of Greene’s committee assignments as a partisan power grab. Greene, who often trolls Democrats on social media, has said Biden should resign.

“Joe Biden, be prepared. We are going to uncover every corrupt business dealing, every foreign entanglement, every abuse of power, and every check cut for The Big Guy,” Greene said.

Gosar lost his committee assignments in late 2021 after posting an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with a sword. Democrats said the video was a clear threat to a lawmaker’s life, and they argued that Gosar’s conduct would not be tolerated in any other workplace — and shouldn’t be in Congress.

The vote to censure Gosar and remove him from his House committee assignments was approved almost entirely along party lines. Then-Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois the only Republicans voting in favor.

Gosar will return to the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, his assignments before the punishment.

SANTOS TO SCIENCE AND SMALL BUSINESS

State and local Republican leaders in New York have called on Santos to resign after lying to voters about his resume and family heritage. Santos says he’s staying and McCarthy has taken the position that the voters will have the final say in the matter in 2024, when Santos would be up for reelection.

Republicans have such a slim House majority that even losing one Republican seat makes it that much tougher to pass legislation. Santos represents a Long Island-based district that could flip to Democrats in a special election.

Santos will serve on two lower-profile committees: the House Small Business Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

MCCARTHY’S DETRACTORS

A core group of Republicans who opposed McCarthy for speaker but ultimately changed their votes to present, allowing him to prevail in the 15th round, got their committee assignments.

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida will remain on the House Judiciary Committee. Biggs also returns to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, in his first term, was recommended for the House Homeland Security Committee, where he says he will “fiercely combat the disaster at our border.” He also will be on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the House Small Business Committee.

Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana will return to the House Natural Resources Committee.

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado will serve on that committee as well as the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, where Republicans will look into the business dealings of Hunter Biden in an attempt to find any connection to the president.

OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE NOTABLES

Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania , chairman of ultra-conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus, retained his seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and added a new assignment: the high-profile House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

“Boy, do I have some questions,” said Perry, about his role on that investigative committee.

Perry has continuously disputed the validity of Biden’s 2020 victory in Pennsylvania. The committee investigating the Capitol riot referred him to the House Ethics Committee , along with McCarthy, Biggs and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, for defying subpoenas seeking their testimony.

The addition of Perry, Boebert, Greene and Gosar to the House Oversight and Accountability presents challenges for Republicans who will need to show a strong measure of seriousness and even-handedness over the coming months to ensure credibility with voters about their findings. Those lawmakers are among Trump’s strongest allies in the House and are known for their inflammatory political discourse.

The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, called members of his committee “an all-star lineup ready to hit the ground running and go to bat for the American people.”

White House spokesman Ian Sams said that “with these members joining the Oversight Committee, it appears that House Republicans may be setting the stage for divorced-from-reality political stunts, instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the American people.”

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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Democrats are crying foul as House Republicans sort key committee assignments

Lexie Schapitl

Barbara Sprunt

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., center, with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., center, with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.

Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of "political vengeance" for blocking the California Democrats from serving on the House Intelligence Committee.

"This is, I think, not an unexpected but nonetheless, destructive move by Kevin McCarthy," Schiff said during a press conference Wednesday morning.

McCarthy rejected a request from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to keep Schiff and Swalwell on the committee. Both members previously served on the panel — with Schiff serving as chair from 2019 to 2022 — and both were involved in the investigations and impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

The move comes as the new Republican majority is outlining its plans and priorities for the session, which include a focus on oversight and investigations of President Biden's administration.

As House speaker, McCarthy has authority to approve or reject spots on the intelligence committee because it is a "select" committee, while positions on standing committees ultimately require a vote of the House. Republicans who support the move cited former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to seat several members to the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

With the GOP in control of the House, here's who's likely to lead key committees

In a letter to Jeffries , McCarthy said the intel committee under Schiff "severely undermined its primary national security and oversight missions — ultimately leaving our nation less safe." On Tuesday, McCarthy cited a report that Swalwell was targeted by a Chinese spy in 2014 .

"Those members will have other committees, but the intel committee is different. The intel committee's responsibility is national security to America," he said.

Under new Republican leadership, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to investigate the classified documents found in Biden's Delaware home and Washington, D.C., office, alleged collusion between the FBI and social media companies, the origins of COVID-19 and other politically contentious issues.

The FBI searched Biden's home and found more classified documents

Schiff told reporters tuesday he thinks the move is purely political.

While McCarthy argues blocking Schiff and Swalwell is in the interest of national security, Democrats say the move is nothing more than political retribution.

"His objection seems to be that I was the lead impeachment manager in Donald Trump's first impeachment, and that we held him accountable for withholding hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid from Ukraine," Schiff said. "So he is now, I think, carrying the dirty water for the former president in trying to remove me from the intel committee."

But, Schiff added, "if McCarthy thinks this is going to stop me from holding him accountable, holding Donald Trump accountable or any of the extreme elements of his conference, he's wrong."

Schiff is now slated to serve on the House Judiciary Committee, according to a source familiar with the discussions but unauthorized to speak publicly.

McCarthy is also considering a vote to block Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from sitting on the Foreign Affairs Committee over her comments on Israel , which drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Pelosi Rejects 2 GOP Nominees For The Jan. 6 Panel, Citing The Integrity Of The Probe

The Democratic-led House voted to strip two far-right GOP members — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona — of their committee assignments in 2021. At the time, then-Minority Leader McCarthy warned Republicans could take similar actions when they regained the majority.

"Once you set the precedent, and we warned them about that, it's likely to happen in reverse," said Rep. Tom Cole, chair of the House Rules Committee. "This is something that Democrats, in my view, brought on themselves."

NPR's Claudia Grisales contributed to this report.

Pelosi Announces Additional Committee Assignments

‘I’m emancipated now’: Nancy Pelosi enjoying life after leadership

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“Now we’re going to have some fun,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) says enthusiastically, winning a giggle from her daughter.

It’s a little past 6:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday. The former House speaker is sitting in a packed black SUV with a reporter on her left, a driver and a member of her security detail in the front and her daughter Christine and two top congressional aides squeezed into the backseat.

The group is en route from the Swedish Embassy, where Pelosi was the keynote speaker at an event supporting Ukraine, to the St. Regis Hotel for “Thank You, Madam Speaker,” a reception celebrating her legacy.

The Times spent a day with Pelosi and her team to see how the former House speaker is adjusting to life outside of leadership. She began it with ice cream for breakfast and finished it church-style dancing to a performance of the Resistance Revival Chorus.

“You never can dance too much,” she advises.

This is Pelosi in her newest chapter, living her best life without the stresses of having to steer congressional Democrats past political pitfalls and through policy quicksand. Her colleagues say she’s essentially a national congresswoman — a woman who represents a single district but has a platform that extends far beyond the borders of San Francisco — and is someone other Democrats look to for advice and wisdom.

Pelosi, 82, insists that she’s not looking over the shoulder of the new leadership team she paved the way for. She says she’s enjoying her new freedom as Nancy on the Hill instead of the speaker of the House.

Pelosi’s new role is a mixed bag, though. She’s able to speak her mind more freely, but she still wants to pick and choose her moments because she no longer speaks for the House Democratic Caucus. She’s given up the 24/7 schedule of a party leader, but she has to find new ways to fill her calendar because she has no committee assignments and loathes downtime. And as she’s traded in her leadership title for the honorific speaker emerita, Pelosi has lost the bulk of her staff and coveted office space.

Pelosi has served in Congress since she won a special election in the summer of 1987. She spent two decades in leadership, including two historic stints as the first — and so far only — female speaker of the House. She announced in November that she would step down from leadership but continue to represent her San Francisco district in Congress.

For the record:

6:54 a.m. March 21, 2023 An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Rep. Joseph William Martin Jr. was the last top House Republican or Democrat to leave their leadership post but remain in Congress. In fact, Martin was the last top Republican or Democrat to leave their leadership post and complete another term in Congress.

Rep. Joseph William Martin Jr. (R-Mass.) in the 1950s was the last top House Republican or Democrat to leave their leadership post and complete another term in Congress. Pelosi is carving out a new role in Congress without modern precedent, and making it up as she goes.

Congressional leaders have to be cognizant of how their words will play beyond their individual districts.

Now that she’s freed of that obligation, Pelosi feels unbound and unfettered, she says.

She digs into her lunch, a foil-wrapped hot dog with mustard and relish.

“I’m,” she says, leaning in and speaking with a whisper, “emancipated now!”

Her full voice returns: “Liberated! Freedom! Free at last!”

She says she’s been busy since leaving leadership but found time in January to see a pair of plays — “Leopoldstadt” and the last show of “The Music Man” — and San Francisco jazzman Chris Botti. Going to the theater wouldn’t have been possible if she were still Democratic leader, she says; she likely would’ve been traveling.

She has other news. “I haven’t had time yet,” she says, “but I’m writing a book.”

She doesn’t provide any details about her book but says to read it. She’ll be fair, she adds with a laugh.

With her newfound freedom, Pelosi also intends to be more vocal about preserving the nation’s democracy. “I probably will be saying some things about our democracy and what the Republicans and the court have done to narrow it,” she says.

She condemns House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Bakersfield) decision to hand over 41,000 hours of Jan. 6, 2021, surveillance footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who told his audience that the attack on the Capitol was “mostly peaceful chaos.” McCarthy’s decision, she says, was thoughtless, dangerous and reckless. She deploys that term — “reckless” — a half-dozen times within a 20-second span.

“That was in keeping with their home address: reckless,” she says. “That’s what all roads lead to with the Republicans: reckless.”

Pelosi has a hideaway — a secret space inside the House where she hosts meetings — and an office in the Longworth House Office Building. Her hideaway sends conflicting messages about who Pelosi wants to be at this stage of her career. A sign above the entrance reads “Ms. Pelosi.” Along the same wall are two gavels, one of which is in a display case, memorializing the passage of the American Rescue Plan. Farther down the room is a wall where flags flank a government seal acknowledging Pelosi’s title as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Inside her office in Longworth is a glimpse of her news diet: two stacks of newspapers from the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Politico, the Hill and Roll Call. A table full of self-portraits awaiting her signature offer further proof that she’s no ordinary member of Congress.

Though Pelosi is no longer in leadership, a security detail follows her movements across the Capitol and the capital city. Her office is adorned with numerous awards, medals and plaques, some of which sit on the floor, demonstrating that the honors she’s accumulated over a decades-long career stretch beyond the limits of her new office space — or that her dramatically downsized staff has been too busy to find them a home.

Pelosi takes pains never to mention former President Trump by name. “Don’t write that down,” she says after letting the T-word slip out during lunch. “Just say she burped.”

After lunch, Pelosi pops into a drop-by meeting with some of her San Francisco constituents, then heads back to her office to catch President Biden’s speech outlining his budget proposal. She sits in a chair positioned just a few feet from an entertainment center with four small Samsung TVs inside. On the top left screen is MSNBC’s broadcast of the president’s address. On the bottom left screen is C-SPAN2, where the Senate is taking up a judicial nominee.

Pelosi can’t resist coaching the president, even though he can’t hear or see her.

She groans when Biden alludes to Trump as “the former president — and maybe future president.”

“Oh, please. Don’t even say such a thing,” she says. “That isn’t kidding. That’s horrible.”

Pelosi, who rises about 15 minutes into the speech to snack on a large chocolate chip cookie, gives the president light applause at different moments of his address, but also tries to will him into pivoting back toward the camera after turning his back to it, wagging her index finger in a circle as she urges him to turn around.

“He’s going to raise her a million dollars by mentioning her name,” she laments after Biden references “the gentlelady from Georgia,” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Guess what,” she tells her communications director, who told her Biden’s speech eclipsed an hour. “I didn’t know it was going to be that long.”

She switches the top left TV from MSNBC to CNN to see the network’s analysis of the president’s remarks. After a while, she gets restless.

“I’ve got to get to work,” she says. “I don’t spend time watching TV. This is the longest I’ve watched TV, to watch the president’s speech.”

Pelosi summons her team over for a quick huddle to go over her evening plans. She’s set to speak briefly at a Ukraine event and then a reception in her honor. But the events overlap.

“My choice is between staying at the other event and listening to a panel discussion or going to this and seeing three videos that the groups have put together about my service,” she tells her team. “I don’t think there’s any contest there because as a courtesy to the people that put that together I should be there for them rather than a moderated conversation, which we could record and I could see later, so let’s revise this thing to say after I speak, I leave, OK?”

She feels a combination of relief and regret about leaving leadership, she says.

“I’m so relieved because it is a 24/7 — there are not enough hours in the day — job,” she explains. “My only regret — real regret — is that I wasn’t leaving it in the majority. I fully intended to do that, and we came very close.”

House Republicans had predicted a red wave in the 2022 midterms. But they instead took control of the chamber this year with a razor-thin majority, in which any five Republicans can sink legislation that Democrats unanimously oppose.

Although colleagues describe Pelosi as a “resource” for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), Pelosi insists she’s trying to stay on the sidelines. She wants to see her successors lead on their own, utilizing their fresh perspectives and taking risks along the way.

“Unless asked, I wouldn’t say anything. I don’t know why people think, well, I’m here so I’m going to be looking over their shoulder,” she says. “I certainly am not.”

One sad part about stepping down, Pelosi admits, is losing “the best staff in the history of Congress.” She is heartened, however, that some of her staff have moved to new leadership offices or taken positions as chiefs of staff with new members.

“We have a much smaller staff,” she says, “but we have much less responsibility.”

She intends to complete her term. “God willing,” she says. “I’ve said it over and over again: I’m here for the full term. There’s absolutely no question.”

Asked about the best feature of her changed role, Pelosi recalls a speech she gave at a recent fundraising breakfast for freshmen and vulnerable incumbents in battleground districts. (She donated $1 million, she tells The Times.)

“What I said to them there was, ‘There are 435 people in the Congress — only one in your district,’” she says. “With all the honors that have been bestowed upon me — to be whip and then leader and then speaker — nothing touches me more than the people of my district when I walk onto the floor of the House to know that I’m walking there because the people of San Francisco said, ‘We want you to speak for us.’ That for me is like the core joy. The rest of it is wonderful, but that is the core joy.”

Pelosi’s biggest worry about her reduced responsibilities is finding herself with too much free time. “I’m not good on down time,” she says. Time, she adds, is “the most valuable commodity that any of us has.”

These days, she spends that time investing in the next generation of Democratic leaders. She speaks gleefully about freshman Democrats. New members of Congress reinvigorate Capitol Hill every cycle — just as the founders intended, she notes. She wonders who among them will become congressional leaders, seek higher office or even be elected president.

“I love it, listening or meeting with or hearing from members, especially the new members,” she says. “We just see them so hopefully, and I just tell them things like keep the home fires burning, remember that — that’s your strength — reach across the aisle. Those kinds of things.”

Most Democrats call her “Nancy,” she says, but some still call her “Madam Speaker.”

“I love when people call me by my first name — here or in my district — because it symbolizes a longer-term relationship,” she says. “We all come by the designation ‘Honorable,’ whether we are or not, but I hope that they would consider me worthy of that title.”

Last month, Pelosi issued a surprise conditional endorsement for Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) in his Senate bid against Reps. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) and Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). The condition was that she would support him only if California Sen. Dianne Feinstein didn’t seek reelection. The endorsement was a consequence of her emancipation: She likely would’ve stayed out of the race if she were still in leadership.

“Adam Schiff is one of the best people that I have ever served with in the Congress for 35 years,” she says.

Pelosi, a former chairwoman of the California Democratic Party, recalls telling the House Democrats’ campaign arm during the 2000 election cycle that she would “take care of California” and win four seats there. The party needed to flip seven seats across the country to regain the majority. California Democrats ultimately flipped five, but the party fell short in its quest to win control of the House.

“Our state would be magnificently served by Adam Schiff,” she says. “I’m just a big fan of his. Always have been. Oh, that night, in 2000, he was one of my five.”

After Biden’s budget speech, Pelosi autographs some photos and then heads to the House floor to vote against two GOP-backed bills that stand little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. Soon, it’s time to leave the Capitol for the Ukraine event at the Swedish Embassy and the “Thank You, Madam Speaker” reception at the St. Regis.

“Y’all ready?” Pelosi asks her daughter and staff as the SUV approaches the swanky hotel. “Ready for a hot time in the old town tonight?”

She playfully touches up her hair before she’s escorted out of the vehicle and makes her way inside. She spends the next half-hour being swarmed by adoring fans anxious to greet and get pictures with — or of — Pelosi. She watches a tribute video and later speaks for over 20 minutes before finding herself dancing in front of the stage as a choir performs.

As Pelosi claps on beat, twisting her hips and tapping her feet, it feels easy to believe a claim she made over her hot dog lunch.

“I love being a member of Congress,” she said. “It’s actually fun.”

More to Read

Nancy Pelosi endorses former Rep. Gil Cisneros in L.A.-area House race

Dec. 14, 2023

Letters to the Editor: Congress and the country will be better off without Kevin McCarthy

Dec. 8, 2023

Editorial: The GOP is broken, and the nation is paying the price in House speaker turmoil

Oct. 25, 2023

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Nolan D. McCaskill is a former staff writer who covered Congress for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in September 2021, he spent nearly seven years at Politico, where he covered breaking news, Congress, the Trump White House, the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and race and policy. He is an alumnus of Florida A&M University and serves as deputy chair of the National Assn. of Black Journalists’ Political Task Force.

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Ocasio-Cortez passed over for Kathleen Rice on Energy and Commerce Committee

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced appointments to several powerful committees on Thursday, most notably the selection of Rep. Kathleen Rice over fellow New Yorker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The New York lawmakers had been jockeying for a seat on the panel, according to several media reports, and lobbying to colleagues behind the scenes for weeks, Politico reported.

The committee oversees a broad range of issues, including consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health, health care policy and climate issues.

Politico reported that there was a contentious private meeting on Thursday at the Steering and Policy Committee, where there was a secret ballot to vote on the two candidates. The news outlet said the vote was 46-13.

Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a rising star in the party, has been outspoken on many of the issues the committee would tackle. She is currently a member of the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She also co-chaired a panel advising President-elect Joe Biden on climate policy during his campaign .

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Rice is a more moderate member of the party, a former district attorney who represents parts of Long Island. She currently serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security. Rice's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pelosi praised the appointments in a statement.

"House Democrats are united in our mission to Build Back Better, and with these strong voices at the table, we will deliver on that sacred promise to make a real difference for all Americans," she said.

Dartunorro Clark covered national politics, including the Covid-19 recovery, for NBC News.

Opinion Nancy Pelosi’s advice for the next GOP speaker

When progressive hard-liners used to come to Nancy Pelosi with yet another unrealistic demand for action from their wish list, the then-speaker had a standard reply ready: “I agree with you. I have those signs in my basement from 30 years ago. But right now, you’re in the Congress of the United States. We’re not on the streets with the signs.”

Pelosi would tell them that when they had 218 votes behind them, a majority in the House, she’d be happy to talk to them again: “But otherwise, recognize that we have to build consensus ... and live to fight another day.”

The speaker’s role comes with many such moments, she recalled in an interview in her office on Thursday; as we talked, Republicans who now hold a tenuous majority in the House were huddled across the street in the Capitol, unable to come together to select their own leader to take over the wreckage that Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has left behind.

Pelosi and others who held the gavel learned — but the deposed McCarthy never did — that one of the hardest and most vital things a speaker must do is say no, sometimes to friends and ideological allies. At times, her majority was so narrow she could afford to lose no more than three votes . But without a leader willing and powerful enough to summon that kind of fortitude, the House is ungovernable.

McCarthy’s constant appeasement of a handful of bellicose GOP members is what got us to this pitiful moment. He put their legislation on the floor knowing it would go no further, gave them key committee assignments — and even signed what was effectively the death warrant of his own speakership by agreeing to allow the rule in which any member could call for a vote to vacate the chair.

All of this should be an object lesson to whoever gets the job next. As departing speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) advised his own successor, Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.): “You can promise effort, but don’t promise results.” Both Boehner and Ryan saw their leadership undermined by the demands of a rising hard-right faction within their party, but it was McCarthy who ceded effective control of the chamber to them.

“Part of the job of the speaker is to manage reality rather than fantasy,” former speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) told me.

For Pelosi, who had a solidly liberal record, an early test came shortly after Democrats regained their majority in the 2006 election and elevated her to the speakership. The big issue in that election had been the Iraq War, and she had been one of the most outspoken opponents to it. Which is why many in her caucus felt betrayed when she did not stand in the way of Congress providing more funds for the conflict without insisting on a clear timetable for ending it — an end date that would not pass the Senate nor survive George W. Bush’s veto.

“My message to them was, I’ll compare my credentials on opposing this war to anybody here, but as long as the troops are at war, we must support them,” Pelosi recalled. “I basically said to them, we all support the troops. But we have to do it when it’s difficult as well as when it’s easy.”

In 1996, Gingrich brought legislation raising the minimum wage to the House floor — a popular measure conservatives were against and yet knew would pass with a combination of Democratic and more moderate GOP support.

In that year’s election, “we had 23 districts where members thought they would lose if they didn’t get a vote,” Gingrich told me. It was an especially bitter pill to swallow for Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex.), who opposed the very existence of a minimum wage. And yet, Armey argued in a private meeting, the survival of their majority hinged on allowing the House to work its collective will.

When Boehner was speaker, one of his closest friends in the House would regularly come to his office and plead for a seat on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. Boehner would hear out the member, then tell him: “Not gonna happen.”

But now “the reality is we have a lot of members who have distorted views of what’s possible,” said Brendan Buck, a former aide to both Boehner and Ryan.

It might be that only one of the bomb-throwers themselves — say, front-runner-of-the-moment Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — would have the credibility it takes to say no to them, though there is little evidence he has that capacity for pragmatism and respect for the institution. Or maybe it has to be a graybeard such as Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who is respected across the various factions within a party that is squabbling with a pettiness that would put a small-town city council to shame.

But someone has to do it. At this moment of peril for the country, and the world, there is too much at stake for any new speaker to continue indulging the least responsible actors in Congress. Is there a grown-up in the House?

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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nearly Tripled the S&P 500's Returns in 2023: Here Are the Stocks She's Been Buying

April 28, 2024 — 05:50 am EDT

Written by Keith Speights for The Motley Fool  ->

Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has multiple major accomplishments on her resume. She's been a U.S. Representative for nearly 37 years. She's the first female Speaker of the House and the first woman to lead either chamber of Congress. Is she also a market-beating investor?

The former House Speaker nearly tripled the S&P 500 's returns in 2023, giving her the ninth-best returns among members of Congress , according to options trading platform operator Unusual Whales. However, all of Pelosi's disclosures of trades listed her husband, Paul Pelosi, as the owner.

Pelosi's recent purchases

Over the last 12 months, Pelosi has purchased only two stocks. Both are also favorites of many other investors.

On June 15, 2023, the former Speaker's husband exercised 50 call options to buy 5,000 shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) for $80 per share. Apple's current share price is more than double this purchase price.

Mr. Pelosi has owned Apple stock for years. Other members of Congress or their families have also invested in the tech giant. Apple was second on the list of stocks lawmakers bought the most in 2023.

On the same day of the Apple transaction, Pelosi also exercised 50 call options to purchase 5,000 shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) for $180 per share. As with Apple, Microsoft's current share price is more than twice the strike price of those options.

More options

The initial purchases of the moneymaking call options for Apple and Microsoft were made in 2022. Paul Pelosi has been buying more call options on other stocks in recent months.

On Dec. 22, 2023, Mr. Pelosi bought 50 call options for Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a strike price of $120 and an expiration date of Dec. 20. 2024. At the time, Nvidia's share price was around $488.

On Feb. 12, 2024, Pelosi purchased 50 call options for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) with a strike price of $200 and an expiration date of Jan. 17, 2025. Palo Alto Networks' share price then hovered around $372.

A few days later on Feb. 21, 2024, the former Speaker's husband bought 20 more call options for Palo Alto Networks. Again, the strike price was $200 with an expiration date of Jan. 17, 2025. The stock had fallen significantly, though, to around $262.

Call options with a strike price lower than the current share price are known as "in-the-money" options. Buying in-the-money call options lowers investors' upfront costs and limits the risk of loss while allowing them to profit from upward moves for the underlying stock.

Are Pelosi's picks good choices now?

Valuation is a concern with all four stocks Pelosi likes. Apple's sluggish growth arguably doesn't justify its forward price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 26. Microsoft and Nvidia trade at well above 30 times forward earnings, while Palo Alto Networks' forward earnings multiple is a sky-high 47.

However, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia should profit from the generative AI boom for years to come. The need for cybersecurity solutions should grow, boosting Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks. I think Pelosi's picks are good choices for long-term investors.

Should you invest $1,000 in Apple right now?

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Keith Speights has positions in Apple and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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