The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi (1940-) currently represents the progressive 12th Congressional District of California in the US House of Representatives. Pelosi was the first female Speaker of the House. She served in this role from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. As a congressperson, Pelosi served in various leadership positions in the Democratic caucus prior to being Speaker of the House.

Pelosi is known for having voted against the authorization for use of military force against Iraq in 2002 and her championing of human rights in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. As Speaker of the House, Pelosi oversaw passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Troubled Asset Relief Program; passage of these bills required enforcement of party discipline and the ability to muster needed votes in advance of debate on legislation.

Pelosi is in the unusual position of having been a woman in the third most- powerful political position in the US political system. Pelosi addresses the challenges she faced in a political system that was not accustomed to women in power. Pelosi navigates these challenges in the book by representing herself as an inheritor and custodian of a tradition of women gaining hard-fought rights. Pelosi also portrays herself as a woman whose life experiences inform her politics and ethics as a politician.