President Joe Biden praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday after she announced her decision to exit Democrat leadership.
“When I think of Nancy Pelosi, I think of dignity,” he wrote in a more than 500-word statement released by the White House. “History will note she is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history.”
Pelosi announced her decision to step down from a leadership role while continuing to serve in Congress. The White House said that Biden phoned Pelosi earlier in the day to congratulate her for her years of leadership.
In his statement, Biden pointed to Pelosi’s making history in 2007 as the first woman speaker, hailing that moment as “just the beginning of the history she has made during her four terms.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds up the Speaker’s gavel after being elected as the first woman Speaker during a swearing in ceremony for the 110th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol January 4, 2007, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I know because I’ve seen her in action during my career as Senator, Vice President, and now as President,” Biden added, lauding her for her leadership role in bailing out Wall Street, passing Obamacare, and allowing gay and lesbians to serve openly in the military.
The president also took the opportunity on the occasion to promote his own multi-trillion dollar spending agenda that he signed in the first two years of his presidency, thanking Pelosi for helping him pass the bills.
Biden also criticized Republicans who “too often vilify her” during her political career, blaming them for inspiring “political violence and intimidation.”
“She might be stepping down from her leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus, but she will never waiver [sic] in protecting our sacred democracy,” he added.