Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she is fully convinced that Democrats will regain control of the US House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections, paving the way for Hakeem Jeffries to assume the speakership.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Pelosi argued that a Democratic victory would restore Congress’s institutional authority and reassert the House as an effective check on President Donald Trump.
“Hakeem Jeffries is ready. He is eloquent. He is respected by the members; he is a unifier,” Pelosi said, expressing unambiguous confidence in her party’s current House leader.
When asked whether she could imagine any circumstances in which Jeffries would fail to become speaker if Democrats won the chamber, Pelosi was unequivocal. “None.”
Democrats eye the gavel as a tool of oversight
Pelosi suggested that a Jeffries-led House would move swiftly to reclaim congressional powers that she believes have been eroded under Republican control. These, she said, would include control over federal spending and the authority to demand transparency from executive agencies.
On Sunday, she said a Jeffries-led House would have all the tools to push back against Trump, from controlling the purse strings to demanding information from federal agencies that are now keeping lawmakers in the dark.
“It is hard to get something that he will sign because of the problem that he is, but you can hold up some of the things they may put forward,” Pelosi said.
She also raised the prospect of renewed accountability measures should Democrats regain the majority, suggesting that any future impeachment proceedings would be a consequence of presidential conduct rather than partisan strategy.
“She also suggested that if Trump were to face a third impeachment under a Democratic majority, he would have no one to blame but himself.”
“Right now, the Republicans in the Congress have abolished the Congress,” she said. “They just do what the president insists that they do.”
“That ends as soon as we have that gavel,” she said.
Who is Nancy Pelosi?
Nancy Pelosi is one of the most influential figures in modern American legislative history. First elected to Congress in 1987, she has represented San Francisco for nearly four decades and became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the US House in 2007.
She reclaimed the speakership more than a decade later, overseeing the passage of major Democratic priorities, including the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama. Throughout her tenure, Pelosi was also a central figure in repeated confrontations with Donald Trump during his presidency.
Now 85, Pelosi announced last month that she would not seek re-election, marking the end of a congressional career that has shaped Democratic strategy and legislative power for a generation.
Who is Hakeem Jeffries?
Hakeem Jeffries is the current Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives and is widely viewed as the face of the party’s next generation. Representing New York, Jeffries succeeded Pelosi as House Democratic leader and has worked to consolidate support across the party’s ideological wings.
Known for his disciplined messaging and organizational skills, Jeffries has positioned himself as a consensus-builder capable of leading a narrowly divided chamber. Pelosi’s endorsement underscores his status as the party’s presumptive choice for speaker should Democrats secure a majority.
A midterm election in US with high stakes
Pelosi’s remarks reflect growing Democratic optimism that next year’s midterm elections could reshape Washington’s balance of power. For Democrats, winning back the House would not only elevate Jeffries to the speakership but also revive Congress’s role as an assertive counterweight to the White House.
As Pelosi framed it, the return of the gavel would mark a decisive shift. In her words, Democratic control would bring an abrupt end to what she described as congressional deference to presidential demands — and reopen a new chapter of legislative scrutiny in Washington.
