Celebrate or Celebrated? The legacy of Nancy Pelosi.
Recently, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi announced she will not be running for reelection in 2026. From being the daughter of Baltimore's mayor to becoming the speaker of the House of Representatives twice, Pelosi has been surrounded by politics her entire life. Now the United States are in the twilight of her 37 year tenure, there are questions to be asked about Pelosi. Was she good or bad? Was she effective or inefficient? Should Americans celebrate or should she be celebrated?
Major Political Events
2008 Financial Crisis:
A challenge that arose in Pelosi’s first speakership was the 2008 financial crisis. In the heart of the fire, Pelosi and democrats at the top of the party proposed a 700 billion dollar subsidy to help bailout Wall Street titled the Troubled Asset Relief Program. This policy was seen as controversial because many thought it rewarded the banks that had caused the financial crisis. The administration saw it as necessary to prevent further economic collapse. Another policy that Pelosi was a part of that followed the initial financial crisis was the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. This act aimed to repair the system that caused 2008.
The Affordable Care Act:
To many, the biggest piece of Pelosi’s legislative legacy is the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare. The act aimed to fix the issues with American healthcare, particularly those that involved insurance. Notable problems with healthcare at the time were insurance companies denying sick patients to avoid having to pay, insurance companies having a maximum payment amount, and low competition in the insurance market leading to price gouging on premiums. When signed into law the act was one of the largest healthcare reforms in American history. Pelosi can receive a large amount of the credit for the ACA because of her approach to utilize the majority the democrats had in congress; this was opposed to former president Obama’s strategy to reach bipartisan agreement within congress because of how large the bill was.
Pelosi, Trump, and Cortez:
In the 2018 midterms, Democrats would take control of the House again, but this time Pelosi did not have as easy of a route to speakership. Within the Democratic party, it was unclear whether or not Pelosi would regain speakership. Many Democrats initially gave support to the newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the heat of the situation, President Trump tweeted that he “could get Nancy as many votes as she wants.” Following this, Pelosi was invited to the Oval office by Trump to have a conversation and she agreed to attend; unbeknownst to her, Trump called the media to be present during the meeting. After the meeting Pelosi regained support from many Democrats because of her ability to stand up to the president. In the election, only four Democrats voted against her; Pelosi pointed this out in a press release, and in what was believed to be a dig at Cortez and younger, newly elected Democrats.
Impeachments:
Pelosi has had numerous conflicts with President Trump; two of the most significant ones being her calls for impeachment. Pelosi led cases for impeachment of Trump in 2019 and 2021. The first case came after calls where Trump had requested information on Joe Biden’s son from the President of Ukraine were leaked. The second case occurred after the January 6th insurrection, where Trump played a notable role in allowing his supporters to storm the capital. Pelosi was a target of political violence in this situation as rioters called out “Where’s Nancy?” after reaching the speaker’s chamber. Both times the president was impeached, and both times he was acquitted in the senate. Pelosi has garnered criticism from the left for waiting too long to begin impeachment proceedings. There are claims that she waited to send the impeachment document for over a month in 2020; the criticism is that Pelosi was trying to worsen the look for republicans rather than fulfilling a moral obligation to impeach Trump for breaking the law. There are arguments that this delay led to Trump's acquittal.
The State of the Union:
Another incident regarding Trump and Pelosi was when Trump refused to shake her hand at his State of the Union address. After the speech, Pelosi ripped her copy on national television.
COVID-19:
During the COVID-19 crisis, Pelosi played a significant role in passing legislation. She was one of the architects of the CARES act, which spent 2.2 trillion dollars to stimulate the economy and provide monetary relief to Americans. Pelosi was also an architect of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which spent 1.25 trillion dollars on a long term project to improve infrastructure across the United States.
Effects of Policy
Troubled Asset Relief Program:
Just two years after the TARP was launched by the government, Pew Research Center found that 49% of poll takers believed the TARP did not help. In retrospect, the policy was able to prevent further cascading of the financial crisis, but at the same time, it established a moral hazard where the risky investments from large banking institutions that created and popped the housing bubble were rewarded by bailout money from the government. Alongside the moral hazard, a study from University of Washington found that banks that received money from TARP got a competitive advantage and increased their market share and power relative to banks that did not receive funding. In the moment, the TARP did prevent the crisis reaching the levels of The Great Depression, but it is also likely part of the decrease in government trust that Pew Research center observed in the following years.
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act:
As a response to public outrage towards the moral hazard of the TARP, the Obama administration passed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. The act aimed to expand regulation on the finance sector that caused the financial crisis two years prior. In summary, the act created the Financial Stability Oversight committee and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, expanded the power of the SEC, and created provisions that provide shareholders with more transparency and power. There was a controversy that the FSO committee would, again, protect the financial institutions that were “too big to fail;” this was exactly the worry that a moral hazard had been established. A research article from the Russell Sage Foundation Journal of Social Sciences found that while there were drawbacks to the Dodd-Frank act, overall, it created a much safer financial sector than that of before the crisis. Pelosi was not as involved in the passing of this act as the other ones listed; nevertheless, she was still a big part of the administration that passed it, so it is important that it’s mentioned.
The Affordable Care Act:
The ACA had three main goals when it was passed: Reduce the number of uninsured people, create more competition within the insurance market, and stabilize the prices of premiums to an affordable rate. A study from the Society of Actuaries Research Institute found that the percentage of uninsured people has dropped by a notable eight percent, but the competition in insurance has oscillated and premium rates have nearly doubled. Much of the criticism on the act comes from the exclusion of a public option for insurance and the risk assessment provision being abused by insurance companies. In summary, the risk assessment provision created a system where insurers would receive money for having a sicker patient base; this money came from a fund composed of government and insurance company money. Large insurers would take advantage of this by taking up large amounts of sick patients and stacking billions in profit without improving care. The ACA has been legislatively attacked by its opponents and been weakened over time. The act was without question one of the biggest healthcare reforms in American history, but it has not aged as its creators hoped it would. Fifteen years later, Pew Research Center polls still find that voters voice healthcare as a top concern.
Recent Legislation:
Because the CARES act and the IIJA were fairly recent, it is hard to see the long term impact of the policy. It is generally agreed on that the CARES act led to more inflation; at the same time, many argue it was worth it due to the dire situation of the COVID-19 crisis. The IIJA is a very long term oriented project, and it is difficult to judge its effectiveness after only a few years removed.
Integrity
Voting record:
When it comes to voting on positions Pelosi publicly supports there is decent integrity. She almost exclusively votes down party lines, and has not released separate positions than those of the party as a whole. Votesmart.org finds Pelosi votes with expected policies almost all the time.
Campaign Finance:
Pelosi is a fundraising juggernaut within the Democratic party, and her campaign finance appears to have mediocre integrity. She receives roughly 50% of her donations from small individual donors in most election cycles, and about 30-40% from large individual donors. She does accept money from some corporate and ideological PACs, which can be a red flag, but as an overall percentage it is not much of her career fundraising amount. Some potential red flag industries and PACs Pelosi has taken funding from are AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee), The finance industry, The energy industry, The insurance industry, and the electronics industry. It cannot be said that Pelosi and her leadership PAC show extreme integrity in their campaign finance, but it also cannot be said that they are bought out.
Personal Finances:
Pelosi has been in controversy surrounding her personal finances and trading of stocks; her personal financial integrity is very poor. According to Quiver Quantitative, Pelosi has an estimated net worth of 281.29 million dollars and a trade volume of 164.39 million dollars as of November 12th, 2025; it is also worth noting that her trading strategy has outperformed the market by nearly 600%. Considering Pelosi has a salary of 174,000$ and she has an estimated net worth nearly 2000 times that amount, it is fair to say she has very poor personal financial integrity.
Celebrate or Celebrated?
I think it is important that politicians like Pelosi are not celebrated.
ACA:
The Affordable Care Act is at the center of Pelosi’s legislative career, and it tells the most about her legislative career. The act is an example of Pelosi acting pragmatically and creating policy that did not age as desired. The Affordable Care Act was good at fixing some of the issues with insurance companies in the healthcare system, but ultimately, it closed holes and made new ones in the process. The lack of a public option and the loopholes within the risk assessment system are great examples of how the act failed in the long term. Some reform is better than no reform, but still, the Affordable Care Act was mediocre at best because of how it has not created the level of long term positive change that was promised.
The old guard:
One of the biggest frustrations with the Democratic party in recent years has been its inability to deliver the change many voters have been asking for, and this has been a big part of how MAGA gained so much traction. It is typical for leaders of the house to give up their position after a lost election; Pelosi is the only example in modern politics of a speaker coming back after losing control. There have been arguments within the left that Pelosi’s lengthy tenure has hurt the party. I agree with this perspective particularly when it comes to Pelosi’s conflicts with the newer, more progressive section of the Democratic party before her second speakership. It is clear that the strategy of Democrats campaigning and governing as centrists has backfired as Republicans have taken control of the house many times during Pelosi’s tenure, and maybe allowing some of the younger, progressive section to lead the Democratic party could have energized more young voters.
Precedent:
The biggest reason for why Pelosi can’t be celebrated is corruption. Pelosi’s insider trading is a stain on her and the party’s legacy; her trading strategy creates a large conflict of interest and makes it hard to trust her intentions. Corruption to this extent shows why many voters have been frustrated with Democrats becoming public servants with private fortunes. If Pelosi is celebrated, then in precedent, her corruption is allowed, and that cannot be tolerated if change and fairness is the destination for the United States.
Throughout her career, Pelosi was effective at getting policy passed and a trailblazer for women in American government; at the same time, she has used corruption to build a personal fortune and has been unable to create much of the change she promised. There have been many times where Pelosi was not as bad as her opponents, but if America is to truly change, then it cannot celebrate the legacy of corruption and complacency that Nancy Pelosi has come to represent.
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