Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.

Nancy Patricia Pelosi is an American politician who was the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected U.S. House speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress, heading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023. A member of the House since 1987, Pelosi represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco. She is the dean of California's congressional delegation.

The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section II, of the U.S. Constitution. By custom and House rules, the speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these many roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates—that duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party—nor regularly participate in floor debates.

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the United States.