Speaker Nancy Pelosi won a fourth non-consecutive term to lead the House of Representatives, suffering a handful of defections in a narrow vote after her party lost seats but kept control of the chamber.
After serving for 17 years in charge of the House Democrats, Pelosi ran unopposed in her election.
She is the first woman to be speaker, leading the House from 2006 to 2011, and since the Democrats took back the House in 2018.
The California Democrat received 216 votes opposite of her opponent, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, in which he received 207 votes.
Nancy Pelosi stated that they were to “begin the new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty.”
“It gives (me) great pride to serve as speaker of the most diverse House of Representatives in the history of our country,” said Pelosi after her victory.
After the last Congress passed a relief package in its waning days, she stressed that lawmakers’ “most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus.”
