Editing Nancy Pelosi (section)

== First speakership (2007–2011) ==
=== 2007 speakership election ===
{{see also|2007 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election}}

[[Image:Bush, Pelosi, and Hoyer meeting at White House, Nov 9, 2006.jpg|thumb|right|President [[George W. Bush]] meets with [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]]-designate Pelosi and House Minority Whip [[Steny Hoyer]] on November 9, 2006.]]
In the 2006 elections, the Democrats took control of the House, picking up 30 seats,<ref>{{cite news |last=Benenson |first=Bob |date=January 4, 2007 |title=Pelosi Officially Elected Speaker of the U.S. House |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/04/cq_2079.html |website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=November 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129210217/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/04/cq_2079.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the party's largest House seat gain since the [[1974 United States House of Representatives elections|1974 elections]] held in the wake of the [[Watergate Scandal|Watergate scandal]].<ref name="SandalowDetermination"/> The party's House majority meant that as the party's incumbent House leader, Pelosi was widely expected to become speaker in the next Congress.<ref>{{cite news |author=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=November 8, 2006 |title=Pelosi to Make History as First Woman Speaker of the House |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2607555&page=1 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103140201/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2607555&page=1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eilperin |first=Juliet |date=November 8, 2006 |title=Nancy Pelosi Set to Be First Female Speaker |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110701726.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194824/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110701726.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On November 16, 2006, the Democratic caucus unanimously nominated her for speaker.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hulse |first=Carl |date=November 17, 2006 |title=Pelosi Rebuffed Over Her Choice for Majority Leader |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/us/politics/17cong.html |work=[[The New York Times]]|issn=0362-4331 |access-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717210824/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/us/politics/17cong.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Pelosi supported her longtime friend John Murtha for House majority leader, the second-ranking post in the House. His competitor was House Minority Whip [[Steny Hoyer]], who had been Pelosi's second-in-command since 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hooper |first=Molly |date=November 16, 2006 |title=Hoyer Wins House Majority Leader Race, Giving Pelosi First Setback |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/hoyer-wins-house-majority-leader-race-giving-pelosi-first-setback |website=[[Fox News]]|access-date=November 8, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061119084150/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C229819%2C00.html |archive-date=November 19, 2006 }}</ref> Hoyer was elected House majority leader over Murtha by a margin of 149–86.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |first1=Thomas |last1=Ferraro |first2=Richard |last2=Cowan |date=November 16, 2006 |title=CORRECTED—Democrats defy Pelosi, elect Hoyer House leader |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2006/11/17/corrected--democrats-defy-pelosi-elect-hoyer-house-leader/ |work=Toronto Star |agency=[[Reuters]]|access-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194647/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2006/11/17/corrected--democrats-defy-pelosi-elect-hoyer-house-leader/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 4, 2007, Pelosi defeated Republican [[John Boehner]] of Ohio, 233 votes to 202, in the election for speaker of the House.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walsh |first=Deirdre |date=January 4, 2007 |title=Pelosi becomes first woman House speaker |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/04/congress.rdp/index.html |website=[[CNN]]|access-date=January 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106022356/http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/04/congress.rdp/index.html |archive-date=January 6, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=NowThis News |date=March 29, 2020 |title=Remember When: Nancy Pelosi Became First Woman Speaker of The House {{!}} NowThis |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZmY9MSWKfE |website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nancy Pelosi becomes first female Speaker of the House |url=https://www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/nancy-pelosi-named-speaker-of-the-house-2004 |website=History|date=December 6, 2018 |access-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref>

[[Rahm Emanuel]], the incoming chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, nominated Pelosi, and her longtime friend [[John Dingell]] swore her in, as the [[dean of the House of Representatives]] traditionally does.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Oath-of-Office/|title=Oath of Office {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives|website=history.house.gov |access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=November 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109100854/https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Oath-of-Office/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/technology/2007/01/04/pelosi-sworn-in-as-first-woman-speaker-of-the-house/32917f2c-c075-4d7a-b404-90e8c9fe7cea/|title=Pelosi Sworn in as First Woman Speaker of the House|date=January 4, 2007|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 22, 2019|issn=0190-8286|url-status=live|archive-date=January 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122145116/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/technology/2007/01/04/pelosi-sworn-in-as-first-woman-speaker-of-the-house/32917f2c-c075-4d7a-b404-90e8c9fe7cea/}}</ref>

[[File:2007 State of the Union Address – George W. Bush Library.webm|thumb|upright=1.35|start=00:16|thumbtime=00:35|Pelosi (right) with Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] behind President George W. Bush at the [[2007 State of the Union Address]]. Pelosi became the first woman to sit behind the podium at such an address. Bush acknowledged this by beginning his speech with the words, "Tonight, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of my own as the first president to begin the State of the Union message with these words: ''Madam Speaker''."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html |title=President Bush Delivers State of the Union Address |access-date=August 26, 2007 |last=Bush |first=George W. |author-link=George W. Bush |date=January 23, 2007 |website=[[The White House]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013}}</ref>]]

Pelosi was the first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian-American to hold the speakership. She was also the second speaker from a state west of the [[Rocky Mountains]]. The first was [[Washington (state)|Washington]]'s [[Tom Foley]], the last Democrat to hold the post before Pelosi.

During her speech, she discussed the historical importance of being the first woman to hold the position of Speaker:

{{blockquote|text=This is a historic moment—for the Congress, and for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights. But women weren't just waiting; women were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and granddaughters, today, we have broken the [[Glass ceiling|marble ceiling]]. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them.<ref name=110speech>{{cite news |date=January 4, 2007 |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Text-of-Nancy-Pelosi-s-speech-2625996.php |title=Text of Nancy Pelosi's speech |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930151701/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Text-of-Nancy-Pelosi-s-speech-2625996.php |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

She also said Iraq was the major issue facing the [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]] while incorporating some Democratic Party beliefs:

{{blockquote|text=The election of 2006 was a call to change—not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in Iraq. The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end.<ref name=110speech/>}}

As speaker, Pelosi remained the leader of the House Democrats, as the speaker is considered the leader of the majority caucus. But by tradition, she did not normally participate in debate and almost never voted on the floor, though she had the right to do so as a member of the House. She was also not a member of any House committees, also in keeping with tradition.

Pelosi was reelected speaker in 2009.

===Public perception===
During and after her first tenure as speaker, Pelosi was widely characterized as a polarizing political figure. Republican candidates often associated their Democratic opponents with her.<ref>{{Cite news|title=GOP turns to familiar foil amid Trump woes: Pelosi |first1=Heather |last1=Caygle |first2=Gabriel |last2=Debenedetti|work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/24/trump-pelosi-congress-republicans-238683|url-status=live|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715011243/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/24/trump-pelosi-congress-republicans-238683|archive-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Exclusive: Nancy Pelosi targeted in more than a third of GOP House commercials |first=Craig |last=Gilbert |date=April 1, 2018|work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/01/nancy-pelosi-targeted-republican-2018-midterm-congressional-commercials/469453002/|url-status=live|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194646/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/01/nancy-pelosi-targeted-republican-2018-midterm-congressional-commercials/469453002/|archive-date=January 14, 2021}}</ref> Pelosi became the focus of heavy disdain by "mainstream" Republicans and [[Tea Party Movement|Tea Party]] Republicans alike,<ref name="Chaddock"/> as well as from the left.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Donegan |first1=Moira |title=Nancy Pelosi, a hate figure to right and left, is a political virtuoso who defined her era |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/18/nancy-pelosi-hate-figure-right-left-political-virtuoso |website=The Guardian |access-date=October 31, 2023 |date=November 18, 2022}}</ref>

As they had in 2006, Republicans continued to run advertisements that demonized Pelosi.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hulse |first1=Carl |title=Despite Losses, Nancy Pelosi Will Run for House Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/us/politics/06dems.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2023 |date=November 6, 2010}}</ref> Before the 2010 House elections, the [[Republican National Committee]] prominently used a "Fire Pelosi" slogan in its efforts to recapture the House majority.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sainato |first1=Michael |title=Democrats Realize 2010 'Fire Nancy Pelosi' Campaign Has Been Working |url=https://observer.com/2017/06/democratic-party-fire-nancy-pelosi-campaign/ |website=Observer |access-date=October 29, 2023 |date=June 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Condon |first1=Stephanie |title="Fire Nancy Pelosi" Becomes GOP Slogan After Health Care Vote – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-nancy-pelosi-becomes-gop-slogan-after-health-care-vote/ |publisher=CBS News |access-date=October 29, 2023 |date=March 22, 2010}}</ref> This slogan was rolled out hours after the House passed the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Codon |first1=Stephanie |title="Fire Nancy Pelosi" Becomes GOP Slogan After Health Care Vote – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-nancy-pelosi-becomes-gop-slogan-after-health-care-vote/ |website=CBS News |access-date=October 28, 2023 |date=March 22, 2010}}</ref> Republicans spent $65 million ahead of the 2010 elections on anti-Pelosi advertisements.<ref name="Polman1"/> Pelosi has continued to be a fixture of Republican attack.<ref name="WASHPOST1">{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Ashley |last2=Allam |first2=Hannah |last3=Sotomayor |first3=Marianna |title=Attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband follows years of GOP demonizing her |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/29/paul-pelosi-attack-republicans-target/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=October 28, 2023 |date=October 30, 2022}}</ref> Ads demonizing her have been credited with fostering intense right-wing ire toward her,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Karni |first1=Annie |last2=Edmondson |first2=Catie |last3=Hulse |first3=Carl |title=Pelosi, Vilified by Republicans for Years, Is a Top Target of Threats |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/us/politics/pelosi-attack-republican-threats.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2023 |date=October 30, 2022}}</ref> and have been seen as one of the top factors in her unpopularity with the public.<ref name="LastBattle1"/>

===Social Security===
Shortly after being reelected in 2004, President Bush claimed a [[Mandate (politics)|mandate]] for an ambitious second-term agenda and proposed reforming [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] by allowing workers to redirect a portion of their Social Security withholding into stock and bond investments.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sandalow |first=Marc |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Bush-claims-mandate-sets-2nd-term-goals-I-2637116.php |title=Bush claims mandate, sets 2nd-term goals |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=November 5, 2004 |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930224244/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Bush-claims-mandate-sets-2nd-term-goals-I-2637116.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Pelosi strongly opposed the plan, saying there was no crisis, and as minority leader she imposed intense party discipline on her caucus, leading them to near-unanimous opposition to the proposal, which was defeated.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376213-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902195224/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376213-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 2, 2006 |title=Don't Mess With Pelosi |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=August 27, 2006 |access-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

===Blocking of impeachment proceedings against President Bush===

In the wake of Bush's 2004 reelection, several leading House Democrats believed they should pursue [[Movement to impeach George W. Bush|impeachment proceedings against him]], asserting that he had misled Congress about [[weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] in [[Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|Iraq]] and violated Americans' civil liberties by [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy|authorizing warrantless wiretaps]].

In May 2006, with an eye on the upcoming midterm elections—which offered the possibility of Democrats taking back control of the House for the first time since 1994—Pelosi told colleagues that, while the Democrats would conduct vigorous oversight of Bush administration policy, an impeachment investigation was "off the table". A week earlier, she had told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that although Democrats would not set out to impeach Bush, "you never know where" investigations might lead.<ref>{{cite news |last=Babington |first=Charles |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101950.html |title=Democrats Won't Try To Impeach President |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=May 12, 2006 |access-date=February 3, 2010 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194705/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101950.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

After becoming speaker in 2007, Pelosi held firm against impeachment, notwithstanding strong support for it among her constituents. In the 2008 election, she withstood a challenge for her seat by antiwar activist [[Cindy Sheehan]], who ran as an independent primarily because of Pelosi's refusal to pursue impeachment.<ref>"Sheehan considers challenge to Pelosi", by Angela K. Brown, [[Associated Press]], July 8, 2007.</ref>

===The "Hundred Hours"===
{{Main|100-Hour Plan}}

Before the midterm elections, Pelosi announced that if Democrats gained a House majority, they would push through most of their agenda during the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.<ref>{{cite news|last=Espo|first=David|title=Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100600056.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=October 6, 2013|date=October 6, 2006|quote=...{{spaces}}As in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats—in her fondest wish—win control in the November{{spaces}}7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history.|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194821/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100600056.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=One Hundred Hours|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/rep-nancy-pelosi/one-hundred-hours_b_33529.html|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=October 6, 2013|last=Pelosi|first=Nancy |date=November 7, 2006|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194802/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/one-hundred-hours_b_33529|url-status=live}}</ref>

The "first hundred hours" was a play on President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s promise for quick action to combat the [[Great Depression]] during his [[Hundred Days Congress|"first hundred days"]] in office. Newt Gingrich, who became speaker of the House in 1995, had a similar 100-day agenda to implement his [[Contract with America]].

===Opposition to Iraq War troop surge of 2007===

{{Main|Iraq War troop surge of 2007}}

On January 5, 2007, reacting to suggestions from Bush's confidants that he would increase troop levels in Iraq (which he announced in a speech a few days later), Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader [[Harry Reid]] condemned the plan. They sent Bush a letter reading:

{{blockquote|[T]here is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain.{{spaces}}... Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection, and counter-terror.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/congressional-leaders-call-president-reject-flawed-iraq-troop-surge/ |date=January 5, 2007 |title=Congressional Leaders Call on President to Reject Flawed Iraq Troop Surge |first1=Nancy |last1=Pelosi |first2=Harry |last2=Reid |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120144247/https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/congressional-leaders-call-president-reject-flawed-iraq-troop-surge/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

===2008 Democratic National Convention===
[[File:Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi at DNC (1).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Pelosi and [[Barack Obama]] shaking hands at the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]]]]

Pelosi was named Permanent Chair of the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Denver]], Colorado.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.demconvention.com/democrats-announce-2008-convention-chairs-2/ |title=Democrats Announce 2008 Convention Chairs |date=February 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220004208/http://www.demconvention.com/democrats-announce-2008-convention-chairs-2/ |archive-date=February 20, 2008 |access-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

===Healthcare reform===

Pelosi has been credited for spearheading Obama's health care law, the [[Affordable Care Act]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.academia.edu/35311502|first=Ryan J.|last=Gautreaux|title=Framing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:A Content Analysis of Democratic and Republican Twitter Feeds|date=Summer 2016|access-date=March 26, 2020|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120195817/https://www.academia.edu/35311502/Framing_the_Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act_A_Content_Analysis_of_Democratic_and_Republican_Twitter_Feeds|url-status=live}}</ref> when it seemed doomed to defeat. After Republican [[Scott Brown (politician)|Scott Brown]] won Democrat [[Ted Kennedy]]'s former Senate seat in the [[United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010|January 2010 Massachusetts special election]], costing Democrats their 60-seat [[Senate filibuster|filibuster]]-proof majority, Obama agreed with his then chief of staff [[Rahm Emanuel]]'s idea to do smaller initiatives that could pass easily. But Pelosi dismissed Obama's compunction, mocking his scaled-back ideas as "kiddie care".<ref>{{cite news |last=Bzdek |first=Vince |date=March 28, 2010 |title=Why it took a woman to fix health care |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> After convincing him that this was their only shot at health care reform because of the large Democratic majorities in Congress, she rallied her caucus as she began an "unbelievable marathon" of a two-month session to craft the bill, which passed the House 219–212. In Obama's remarks before signing the bill into law, he called Pelosi "one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125294497 |title=Health Care Overhaul Boosts Pelosi's Clout |last=Seabrook |first=Andrea |date=March 29, 2010 |website=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-date=August 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825171000/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125294497 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="healthcarereform" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34753.html|title=Nancy Pelosi steeled White House for health push|first1=Carrie Budoff|last1=Brown|first2=Glenn|last2=Thrush|authorlink2=Glenn Thrush|date=March 20, 2010 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref><ref name ="nytimesmagazinehealthcare" />

===Assessments of first speakership===
By early 2010, analysts were assessing Pelosi as possibly the most powerful woman in U.S. history and among the most powerful speakers of the previous 100 years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Nancy Pelosi: is this the most powerful woman in US history? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/26/nancy-pelosi-politician-speaker |website=The Guardian |access-date=October 28, 2023 |date=March 26, 2010}}</ref> In March 2010, [[Mark Shields]] wrote,

{{blockquote|In the last four months, <nowiki>[Pelosi]</nowiki> has not once, not twice but on three separate occasions done what none of her predecessors—including legendary giants <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Tip O'Neill]] and [[Sam Rayburn]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>—could ever do: persuade the House of Representatives to pass national health-care reform. Pelosi has proved herself to be the most powerful woman in U.S. political history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shields |first1=Mark |title=Mark Shields: Pelosi Earns Her Place as Most Powerful Woman in U.S. History |url=https://www.noozhawk.com/032710_mark_shields_nancy_pelosi/ |website=Noozhawk |access-date=19 May 2024 |date=27 March 2010}}</ref>}}

Later in 2010, Gail Russell Chaddock of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' opined that Pelosi was the "most powerful House speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago", adding that she had also been "one of the most partisan".<ref name="Chaddock">{{cite web |last1=Chaddock |first1=Gail Russell |title=Michael Steele's 'Fire Pelosi' bus tour: 48 states or bust |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2010/0915/Michael-Steele-s-Fire-Pelosi-bus-tour-48-states-or-bust |website=Christian Science Monitor |date=September 15, 2010}}</ref> Scholars favorably assessed Pelosi's first speakership. In late 2010, [[Norman Ornstein]], a congressional scholar at the conservative-leaning [[American Enterprise Institute]], opined that despite polarized public opinion of Pelosi, "she's going to rank quite high in the pantheon of modern speakers", declaring that the only speaker of the previous 100 years he would rank higher than Pelosi was [[Sam Rayburn]]. [[Catholic University of America]] political scientist Matthew Green opined that the [[111th Congress]] had "been remarkable in its productivity—in both the number of bills enacted and their scope—and Pelosi shares much of the credit."<ref>{{cite web |last1=University |first1=Catholic |title=Experts Rank Pelosi Among Greatest House Speakers |url=https://communications.catholic.edu/in-the-media/2010/11/AOLGreenPelosi.html |website=The Catholic University of America |access-date=October 28, 2023|date=November 4, 2010}}</ref> Green considered Pelosi's tenure as speaker to be among the greatest in U.S. history, highlighting the passage of the Affordable Care Act ("a measure with far-reaching implications for our nation's health care policy"). He also praised Pelosi for occasionally allowing House passage of measures that had majority overall House support but were opposed by the majority of the Democratic House Caucus. He noted that she had occasionally allowed bills to move forward in such fashion despite a high level of [[political polarization]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Matthew |title=Green: Rating Pelosi Against History's Greatest Speakers |url=https://rollcall.com/2010/04/23/green-rating-pelosi-against-historys-greatest-speakers/ |website=Roll Call |access-date=19 May 2024 |date=23 April 2010}}</ref>

In November 2010, Brian Naylor of [[NPR]] opined that:

{{blockquote|During Nancy Pelosi's four years as speaker of the House, Congress approved the health care overhaul—widely considered the most significant piece of domestic legislation since Medicare—along with an $800 billion measure to stimulate the economy and a multi-billion-dollar rescue of the banks. It is a legislative legacy that rivals the accomplishments of any speaker in modern times.<ref>{{cite web |title= Legislative Legacy Works To Pelosi's Detriment |last=Naylor |first=Brian |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/11/04/131052930/legislative-legacy-works-to-pelosis-detriment |access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref>}}

In November 2010, after Democrats lost their House majority, ''[[Politico]]'' writer John Bresnahan called Pelosi's record as speaker "mixed". He opined that Pelosi had been a powerful speaker, describing her as wielding "an iron fist in a Gucci glove" and having held "enormous power within the House Democratic Caucus", but noting that she had a "horrible approval rating with the rest of America". Bresnahan wrote that Pelosi's leadership and the legislative agenda she advanced had significantly contributed to the party's loss of its House majority, citing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as an example of legislation that hurt the Democrats electorally in 2010. Bresnahan also believed that, ahead of the 2010 elections, Pelosi had "disastrously" misread public opinion, and that Pelosi had been a poor orator.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bresnahan |first1=John |title=The rise and fall of Nancy Pelosi |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2010/11/the-rise-and-fall-of-nancy-pelosi-044598 |website=Politico |access-date=October 30, 2023|date=November 3, 2010}}</ref>

Thomas Mann of the [[Brookings Institution]] opined in 2018 that Pelosi had been the "strongest and most effective speaker of modern times" during her first speakership.<ref name="Beinart1"/>

In 2018, [[Robert Draper]] wrote for ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'':

{{blockquote|During Nancy Pelosi’s four years as speaker, there was no confusion as to who was in control. Pelosi used the tools at her disposal—committee assignments, campaign donations—to establish a balance among her party’s coalitions while also reminding everyone that her job was not simply to officiate and appease...But as [[Newt Gingrich]] learned the hard way two decades ago, an autocratic speaker is a short-lived one. Pelosi’s reign was successful because she understood the will of her caucus rather than bending it to hers.<ref name="LastBattle1"/>}}

Draper also wrote that "for all her mastery of Washington's inside game, Pelosi has never been a deft public-facing politician," and called her a poor orator.<ref name="LastBattle1" />