Editing Nancy Pelosi (section)

==== Removal from the Capitol of art depicting Confederates ====
[[File:Removal of Howell Cobb portrait.jpg|thumb|Capitol workers remove the portrait of former House Speaker [[Howell Cobb]] of Georgia from a wall in the Speakers Lobby of the U.S. Capitol.]]

Pelosi repeatedly criticized the fact that the [[United States Capitol]] exhibited artworks depicting people who in various capacities supported the [[Confederacy (American Civil War)|Confederacy]] in the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=":1"/><ref name=Bookerbill>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/17/politics/confederate-statues-capitol-hill/index.html |title=There are Confederate statues on Capitol Hill. Cory Booker has a bill that removes them. |first=Eugene |last=Scott |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=August 17, 2017 |access-date=April 6, 2018 |archive-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510082158/https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/17/politics/confederate-statues-capitol-hill/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The Hill on Speaker's removal of paintings"/> In 2017, this included at least 10 statues in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]], either in the [[National Statuary Hall]] itself or some less prominent Capitol rooms.<ref name=Bookerbill/> Almost all the statues in that collection were selected and donated by the states (two from each state) and could only be exchanged for others by an ordered process involving the consent of the states' legislatures and governors, but the speaker of the House directly could influence their precise placement.

During her first tenure as speaker, Pelosi moved the [[Robert E. Lee (Valentine)|statue of Robert E. Lee]] from the [[National Statuary Hall]] of the U.S. Capitol to the [[United States Capitol crypt|Capitol crypt]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/us/politics/search-for-confederate-symbols-finds-them-aplenty-in-washington.html |title=Search for Confederate Symbols Finds Them Aplenty in Washington |last=Steinhauer |first=Jennifer |date=June 25, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 17, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412222443/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/us/politics/search-for-confederate-symbols-finds-them-aplenty-in-washington.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2017, she supported an initiative by Senator [[Cory Booker]] to have [[removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|Confederate monuments and memorials removed]] from the Capitol Building by means of legislation.<ref name=Bookerbill/>

In June 2020, following the [[George Floyd protests|nationwide protests]] over the [[murder of George Floyd]], Pelosi pushed for the removal of all statues of Confederates from the Capitol. On June 18, Pelosi also ordered that four paintings of former Confederates in the Capitol Speaker's Gallery be taken down.<ref name="The Hill on Speaker's removal of paintings">{{cite web |last1=Marcos |first1=Christina |title=Pelosi orders removal of Confederate portraits in Capitol |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/503383-pelosi-orders-removal-of-confederate-portraits-in-capitol |website=TheHill.com |date=June 18, 2020 |access-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618201302/https://thehill.com/homenews/house/503383-pelosi-orders-removal-of-confederate-portraits-in-capitol |url-status=live }}</ref> "We didn't know about this until we were taking inventory of the statues and the curator told us that there were four paintings of Speakers in the Capitol of the United States, four Speakers who had served in the Confederacy", Pelosi told reporters.<ref name="The Hill on Speaker's removal of paintings" />