The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the USA, Nancy Pelosi, has resigned from the post of the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives in the United States of America.
In a speech on the House floor Thursday, Pelosi defended the party's legislative accomplishments under her leadership before saying: Now we must move boldly into the future. The time has come for a new generation to lead the democratic group.
Her resignation comes as Republicans look to regain control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections.
Republican Kevin McCarthy has won the party's nomination to be speaker of the new Congress and is likely to succeed Ms. Pelosi as speaker.
Speaker of the House is the only congressional office detailed in the US Constitution. After the vice president, it is the next in line for the presidency.
Pelosi became minority leader, the title held by the person leading the opposition in the House, in 2003.
Democrats then took control of the House for the first time in more than a decade in 2006, and she became the first woman to lead a major party in each chamber of Congress.
Ms. Pelosi became minority leader again four years later, but returned to the speaker's chair in 2018.
The first woman to lead a major party in both houses of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi will also go down in history as one of the most effective — an invaluable asset to Democrats and a formidable opponent to Republicans.
She will continue to represent her California district in the lower house of Congress.