President-elect Joe Biden is congratulating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on her reelection as speaker of the House, deeming her a trailblazer.
Congratulating Pelosi on her “well-deserved reelection,” as he put it, Biden said in a statement on Sunday evening that the Democratic lawmaker is “a trailblazing leader — and one of the most effective and accomplished legislators in our nation’s history.”
“I have no doubt that Speaker Pelosi will continue to lead the House with dignity, principle, and patriotic resolve,” he added.
Biden also called on the country to “unite around our values and make unprecedented progress as a nation” as it “begins to emerge from this period of pain and loss in the months to come.”
427 votes cast for Speaker:
— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) January 3, 2021
216 – Pelosi
209 – McCarthy
1 – Duckworth
1 – Jeffries
3 – "present"
Nancy Pelosi elected Speaker.
Biden’s statement read:
“With Speaker Pelosi’s leadership, we will come together to defeat the ongoing pandemic, take on the existential threat of climate change, instill greater equity and justice in our society, and build our economy back better than before. I look forward to working closely with the Speaker and her colleagues in the House, majority and minority alike, to pursue that vital work on behalf of all of the American people.”
Pelosi secured the votes needed to win reelection on Sunday. She received 216 votes, compared to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) 209 votes garnered.
As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 4, 2021
Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus – and defeat it, we will! #117thCongress pic.twitter.com/HD5w1OUfx3
Pelosi said in a speech after winning reelection, “As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced.”
She continued, “We begin the new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty. Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus. And defeat it, we will.”
This will be the California lawmaker’s fourth term as House speaker. Democrats will hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.