Veteran Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, an ardent supporter of strong US-India ties, has been elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, becoming the most powerful elected woman in the US.
The 78-year-old California Democrat replaces Republican leader Paul Ryan, in the new Congress. She won the speakership by 220-192 vote on Thursday over Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who is now the House Minority Leader.
Pelosi took the gavel as Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress after the mid-term elections in November.
With 235 seats, Democrats now enjoy majority in the 435-member House of Representatives while the Republicans has 199 seats.
The Speaker is second in the US presidential line of succession, after the Vice-President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the Senate.
Pelosi also makes history as she reclaims a title she previously held when she served as the first and so far only female House Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She seized the gavel as the House welcomed more women than ever before in the 116th Congress.
As of Thursday, 102 women serve in the House, an all-time high, including 36 newly elected members and a record 43 women of colour.
“We enter this new Congress with a sense of great hope and confidence for the future, and deep humility and prayerfulness in the face of the challenges ahead,” she said accepting the gavel as Speaker of the House.
“I’m particularly proud to be a woman Speaker of the house of this Congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote,” Pelosi said. “And, that we all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members of Congress — the largest number in history,” she said.
In 2017, Pelosi leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation visited India and held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others for strengthening bilateral economic and security relations.
Pelosi said she had a productive conversation with Prime Minister Modi on the importance of the US-India relationship and the shared values which bind our two countries. “We exchanged views on our security cooperation and the terrorist threat, India’s leadership addressing the climate crisis, and our mutual priority of respecting the human rights of all people in our countries.”
Pelosi, known for advocating the cause of the Tibetans, also visited Dharamshala and met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
