Pelosi

Newt Gingrich said Monday that Nancy Pelosi's threat to discuss what she learned about the former House speaker from a 1990s ethics investigation is “an early Christmas gift.” He may be right. Remember that chummy 2008 ad that featured Gingrich and Pelosi urging action on global warming?  “We don't always see eye-to-eye, do we, Newt?” Pelosi said as the two sat side-by-side on a loveseat overlooking the U.S. Capitol building. “No,” Gingrich responded.

With Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank's retirement, Congress will lose arguably its most colorful, powerful, quotable characters. As expected, the news has longtime Capitol hands pulling out their best Frank anecdotes.  Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) regaled the news corps this morning with a few of her favorites - launching into a rare riff of storytelling. Pelosi told of one of her early phone conversations with Frank, shortly after she arrived in the House in 1987. A fellow California lawmaker - former Orange County Rep. William Dannemeyer - made comments on the floor that Pelosi considered anti-gay, she said.

Even Nancy Pelosi is kicking poor Rick Perry when he's down. The Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful had sent a letter to Pelosi, the House's top Democrat, challenging her to a debate next week over his “Overhaul Washington” plan that calls for a part-time Congress of citizen-legislators. For Perry, the move was straight out of the conservative playbook. Down in the polls, mocked by late-night comedians, his contributions drying up, he picked a fight with Pelosi, the bete noire of the American Right.

It didn't take long for the subject of Herman Cain's alleged improprieties to surface in Wednesday evening's GOP presidential debate in suburban Detroit. And Cain may not have helped himself with regard to his views toward women by mocking House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as "Princess Nancy. " There was some thought that the topic might be off-limits in the economy-themed debate, but moderator Maria Bartiromo didn't hesitate to confront Cain on the accusations. The CNBC host asked that if corporations care about the character of their chief executive officers, why shouldn't Americans care about the character of their presidential candidates?

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader, named the three final appointees Thursday to the super committee on deficit reduction, adding diversity along with budget expertise to a panel that was all white and includes only one woman. Pelosi, of California, tapped Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House, along with Rep. Xavier Becerra of California and Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Clyburn, who is black, and Van Hollen served as the House Democrats' appointees to an earlier budget deficit group led this year by Vice President Joe Biden.

At times she has looked to be an afterthought, a relic of a bygone era. Republicans haven't bothered to court her. And the White House, at times, has appeared to ignore her. But now they're going to need Nancy Pelosi. As the clock ticks down toward a possible government default, it appears to be less and less likely that a package can be crafted that will appease the large bloc of House conservatives who either oppose raising the debt ceiling on principle or won't vote to hike it without massive cuts in federal spending.

Just in time for the Fourth of July, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi and HBO present a homemade patriotic valentine, complete with ribbons, streamers and enough flag-waving to create the sensation of an actual breeze emanating from your flat screen. "Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip" began when Pelosi's Dutch-born husband realized, upon the birth of their first child, that a green card was not enough — to avoid being "a foreigner in my own family," he had to become an American citizen.

Democrats sought to swiftly turn the page on the three-week drama involving Rep. Anthony Weiner and refocus attention on other issues after the New York congressman signaled he would finally step down Thursday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appeared Thursday at what she noted was her regularly scheduled weekly press availability -- the topic was jobs --  and said if there were questions on Weiner: "I won't be answering any. " She said she would have an additional statement after Weiner's own press conference later Thursday.

Democrats increased pressure on embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner on Saturday, with a chorus of party leaders calling for his resignation. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chair of the Democratic National Committee, as well as Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who heads the party's campaign arm, virtually simultaneously said it was time for Weiner to step aside. The most intense push yet for Weiner to quit comes on the heel of reports Friday night that police were investigating Weiner's online contacts with a 17-year-old girl in Delaware.

Amid reports of salacious new details involving Rep. Anthony Weiner's online flirtations, Democrats in Washington and New York signaled their unease and wrestled with a vexing question: Can we make this mess go away? The answer on Tuesday appeared to be: not anytime soon, unless Weiner resigns. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi formally called Tuesday for an ethics investigation into whether Weiner used government resources to send explicit photos and whether he violated the House code of conduct, which requires members to "reflect creditably on the House.