Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told USA Today she expects the United States to elect its first female president "within this next generation," while reflecting on persistent barriers for women in Congress and announcing the close of her four-decade career.
Pelosi On Gender, Power And Progress
In an interview released Friday, USA Today correspondent Susan Page asked Pelosi whether a woman might be elected president in her lifetime, noting that Democrats have recently nominated prominent women for national office.
"I certainly hope so. How I think about it is, I always thought that a woman would be president of the United States long before a woman would be Speaker of the House. This place is just so — it's not a glass ceiling, it's a marble ceiling," Pelosi said.
She added candidly, "It's probably, maybe, maybe not my lifetime, but within this next generation, there'll be a woman."
Context And Clarification
Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, noted recent milestones: Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, and Kamala Harris made history in 2020 as the first woman elected vice president on the Joe Biden ticket. (Harris was vice presidential nominee alongside Biden; the Biden-Harris ticket defeated President Donald Trump in 2020.)
Pelosi's remarks emphasize a common theme in American politics: public sentiment and historic breakthroughs often move faster than changes within longstanding institutions like Congress.
Retirement And Farewell
In early November, Pelosi announced she would not seek reelection, bringing to a close a notable four-decade career in public service. In a social media video she said, "With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative," and urged San Francisco residents to "know your power. We have made history, we have made progress, we have always led the way."
Pelosi's interview combines a hopeful prediction about a woman's eventual election to the presidency with a frank assessment of how institutional barriers persist — even as women achieve historic firsts in American government.
