Newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday expressed hope that the new Democratic majority she will lead can find “common ground” with Republicans.
“I respect you and the constituents who sent each and every one of us here,” she said after she was introduced by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Californian.
“They expect and deserve for us to try to find our common ground, and we must try to do that. Stand our ground where we can’t but always extend the hand of friendship,” she said.
Pelosi also highlighted the number of women in the 116th Congress.
“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, 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 to cheers and applause.
She also decried income inequality as a threat to democracy and vowed to work to create an economy that would be equitable for all.
“We will call upon bold thinking to address the disparity of income in America, which is at the root of the crisis of confidence felt by so many Americans,” she said.
“We may have democracy or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few but we cannot have both. We must end that injustice and restore the public’s faith in a better future for themselves and their children. We must be champions of the middle class.”
She also took indirect shots at President Trump, emphasizing the importance of truth, of ending the government shutdown over his long-promised border wall and addressing climate change.
“We have no illusions that our work will be easy and that all of us in this chamber will always agree, but let each of us pledge that when we disagree, we respect each other and we respect the truth,” she said.
“We will debate in advance good ideas no matter where they come from, and in that spirit, Democrats will be offering the Senate Republicans appropriations legislation to reopen government later today,” Pelosi continued, as Republicans sat on their hands.
“We must also face the existential threat of our time, the climate crisis, a crisis manifested in natural disasters of epic proportions. The American people understand the urgency. The people are ahead of the Congress, the Congress must join them.”
The speaker also sounded familiar Democratic themes, including expanded health care, tougher gun laws and humane immigration policies.
She then invited children in the gallery to join her onstage as she took the oath of office.
Earlier, a handful of Democrats sang “California Here We Come” as she marched up the aisle after winning the vote.
Pelosi’s victory returned her to a position she last held in January 2011 as Democrats took control of the lower chamber.
“House Democrats are down with NDP, Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi,” New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries roared as he nominated the 78-year-old veteran lawmaker, in what was likely the first reference to a Naughty by Nature song in a nominating speech for speaker.
Pelosi carried 220 of the 235 Democrats in the House. There are also 199 Republicans, with one vacancy in a contested North Carolina district.
A number of Democrats voted against Pelosi, including Utica Rep. Anthony Brindisi, who voted for Joe Biden, who is not in Congress.
Others included Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, who voted for Rep. Joe Kennedy; Utah Rep. Ben McAdams, who went with Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida; New York Rep. Kathleen Rice, who voted for Stacey Abrams, the losing Georgia gubernatorial candidate; and Staten Island Rep. Max Rose, who voted for Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who earlier had opposed Pelosi, voted for her, prompting sarcastic boos from the Republican side.
Pelosi made news earlier in the day when she would not rule out impeaching Trump.
“We have to wait and see what happens with the Mueller report,” Pelosi told the “Today” show.
“We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason. We have to see.”
Pelosi all but ensured her election by agreeing to limit her tenure to no more than four years in the chamber’s top spot.
Some Democrats, including the far left wing of the party, had called for new leadership in the caucus.
