Masterclass: Nancy Pelosi on Power
Nancy Pelosi didn’t write a memoir. Instead, she has delivered a masterclass on how to govern the House of Representatives. Her book, The Art of Power is subtitled “My Story as the First Woman Speaker of the House.”
During her 20 years serving either as Speaker of the House or heading its Democratic minority, Pelosi worked with presidents from Bush to Biden. During those years, she engineered many legislative victories, most prominent among them: her herculean fight on behalf of the Affordable Care Act. Initially she had assigned the ACA to three powerful House committees. Those committees succeeded and – thanks to Pelosi’s considerable arm twisting and persuasion – assembled enough votes to pass final legislation on March 21, 2010. President Obama officially signed the ACA into law three days later.
But Pelosi’s task wasn’t over. When Donald Trump, who had vowed to “repeal and replace” the ACA, won in 2016, Pelosi changed her mind about maybe leaving Congress. She says she had to stay “to keep the other side from making America sick again.” Despite those who urged Democratic leaders to cut a deal and save what they could, they united and worked with “Protect Our Care” to march, rally, and mobilize across the country.
Trying for repeal, Speaker Paul Ryan came up short. He couldn’t rally enough votes for a hodgepodge substitute that would have stripped health care from 24 million Americans. Rather than lose, Ryan pulled his own bill. Pelosi points out, “One lesson in successful legislating: the Speaker should only bring a bill to the floor when he has the votes.” Ryan was forced to go the White House and explain to President Trump that he was unable to pass the repeal.
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