No nonsense Speaker of the United states of America, USA Congress Nancy Pelosi has been re-elected into her position after garnering 216 votes to defeat House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, her closes rival who got 209 votes.
Pelosi has been a thorn in the flesh of the outgoing President Donald Trump whose tenure ends by January 20. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to take over from Trump who defeated former First Lady Hilary Clinton, to succeed Barak Obama in 2016
The US speaker had, in a letter after the swearing in of the 117th Congress, said her country is facing a trying time, urging her colleagues to rise up to the occasion to make the country great again.
The congress has been convened “during a time of extraordinary difficulty,” she said citing the COVID 19 which has killed thousands of Americans.
According to her “Each of our communities has been drastically affected by the pandemic and economic crisis: 350,000 tragic deaths, over 20 million infections, millions without jobs — a toll almost beyond comprehension,” she said. “Thank you for your generosity of spirit and patriotism to take on this challenge For The People.”
“I am enormously grateful for the trust that Members have placed in me,” she added. “I am confident that the Speaker’s election today will show a united Democratic Caucus ready to meet the challenges ahead.”
Her election marked the fourth non-consecutive term to lead the House of Representatives, even though the Democratic Party which she belongs has witnessed its majority control in the lower house shrunk in the last few years.
Pelosi has been in charge of House Democrats for 17 years. She is the first woman to be speaker, leading the House from 2006 to 2011, and since the Democrats took back the House in 2018.
“It gives (me) great pride to serve as speaker of the most diverse House of Representatives in the history of our country,” said Pelosi after her re-election.
