On Thursday the 17th of November, Nancy Pelosi announced her resignation as speaker of the House. Pelosi, now 82, has been the House speaker twice with her first run starting in 2007 and ending in 2011, and her second run begging in 2019 and ending this year. 

Nancy Pelosi will still remain a member of the house, “She’ll never be just another member,” says Elaine Kamark, a Brookings Institution scholar, who was a senior adviser to former Vice President Al Gore. 

Pelosi’s resignation had left the spot open and the most favored candidate was GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy had previously failed to secure the necessary 218 votes within past votes. McCarthy had suffered 20 defections from members of his own party.

Mccarthy’s failure to be elected paved the way for Rep. Jim Jordan as the Republican party’s alternative choice. Rep. Jim Jordan has publicly stated he doesn’t want the position.

On the other side of things, Rep. Patrick McHenry was the democratic party’s primary nominee. McHenry stated in an interview with Punchbowl News back in April of 2022, “Given the circumstance, I’m much more optimistic about the opportunities we have at Financial Services than the role that I could play at House Republican leadership.” 

As of January 7th, Kevin Mccarthy has won the vote and is the new House Speaker.