Hakeem Jeffries: Nancy Pelosi’s likely successor formally declares Democratic leadership bid

Top Democrats are coalescing their support behind longtime Democratic caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries to be the head of a new-look team that will lead Democrats after two decades under the trio of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Congressman Eric Swalwell brought his daughter to the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday morning to watch as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would step down from her leadership position at the conclusion of this Congress.

He was one of a substantial number of Democrats and a handful of Republicans who came to the floor to hear the longtime Democratic leader give her farewell address. Both Mr Swalwell and Ms Pelosi represent California in the House, with Ms Pelosi’s district covering the city of San Francisco and Mr Swalwell’s covering a portion of the East Bay.

Recently re-elected New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells The Independent that the Democratic Party should retain its core principles but “move to greater independence from large corporate donors.”

“I would like to see a greater shift toward everyday small-dollar diverse sources of funding,” she added.

Moments after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed lawmakers to announce she would end her two decades of Democratic leadership, a recently elected Republican from Wisconsin posted a photo on Twitter pointing to a sign reading “FIRE PELOSI.”

“Promises Made. Promises Kept,” Derrick Van Orden wrote.

Mr Van Orden attended Donald Trump’s rally on 6 January, 2021 before marching to the Capitol, where a mob breached the halls of Congress to forcibly reject the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

He never entered the building that day. But he is among at least two new members of Congress who attended the January 6 rally that spiralled into chaos, with members of the mob raiding Ms Pelosi’s office and chanting her name as they stormed the halls.

President Joe Biden said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be remembered in the future as the “most consequential” leader of the lower House of Representatives in US history.

In a fitting moment for the sole woman to hold the role as speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi welcomed the embrace of a young girl who attended her remarks in the lower chamber of Congress on Thursday, harkening back to the moment in 2019 when she was sworn in as leader next to a group of children on the dais alongside her.

Throughout her the past two decades leading House Democrats, and dating back even further, when, as she characterised it on Thursday, she made the transition from “home maker to House speaker”, Ms Pelosi has served as an exemplar to women wanting to break through the seemingly uncrackable glass ceiling in politics.

That point was roundly celebrated on Thursday in the immediate aftermath of Ms Pelosi announcing her departure as a viral image from her time during the Trump administration made its rounds online again, this time serving a different message.

Johanna Chisholm reports:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a trailblazer who “transformed practically every corner of American politics and unquestionably made America a better, stronger nation.”

Mr Schumer and his caucus will retain control of the upper chamber of Congress next year, holding at least 50 seats in the 100-seat Senate. A runoff election between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker next month could give Democrats a 51st seat to solidify Democrats’ majority.

Very few House Republicans took time out of their day to watch Nancy Pelosi reveal her plans for the 118th Congress, but some members took the occasion of the first woman to lead the House stepping down to issue crass missives on social media to celebrate her departure.

Far-right Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene dodged a question from The Independent when asked about her claims regarding the source of fentanyl crossing the US-Mexico border.

When asked about the fact that most fentanyl comes not from illegal border crossings but from legal ports of entry from American citizens, Ms Greene dodged the question.

“I would ask for where’s your proof on that because that’s not what we’ve been shown,” she said. “When we go to the border and we’re speaking with border patrol agents, when we’re on the ground, that’s not at all what we are being told.”

Then citing a study from the CATO Institute, a libertarian organisation that cited US government data, she rebuffed the study.

“The CATO Institute is not the border patrol,” she said.

Nancy Pelosi may not be the only one leaving her high-profile post in Congress.

In Colorado, far-right Republican Lauren Boebert has faced an unexpectedly close race from challenger Adam Frisch.

Their election is likely heading to a recount, according to election forecasters.

Ms Boebert, one of the more visible ultra-MAGA Republicans in the House, has frequently antagonised Ms Pelosi, and celebrated her exit from the post of House Speaker earlier today.

Here’s our report.