First elected in 1987, Pelosi offers decades of experience at building coalitions and she excels as a Democratic fundraiser. Still, the vote was closer than expected.
What will a divided Congress do over the next two years?
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The new Congress is divided into a GOP Senate and Democratic House. History provides a glimpse of what this could mean: Democrats hold the power to investigate, if not to legislate.
Carol Miller of West Virginia is the only newly elected Republican woman joining the 116th Congress.
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
With President Trump insisting on funding for his border wall and Democrats vehemently opposed, a partial government shutdown is possible. Here’s what it could mean for the economy.
The initial aim of the 1937 Foreign Agents Registration Act was long forgotten: the prosecution of Nazis for interfering with American democracy. But that law is startlingly relevant to the US now.
The Kavanaugh hearings were about the only thing Congress has done with a link to #MeToo.
Reuters/Jim Bourg
Bryan Keogh, The Conversation e Nicole Zelniker, The Conversation
In the last year, workplace culture faced major upheaval for working women. We at The Conversation put together our reporting on that very topic from 2018.
The current and former presidents at the funeral for George H.W. Bush in Washington.
AP/Carolyn Kaster
American military personnel must pass a fitness for duty exam before they serve. Nuclear weapons handlers undergo a rigorous screening process. Shouldn’t the president also undergo such exams?
Many of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ policy proposals have failed.
Matt Rourke/AP
Although many feared that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would destroy public education, a review of the past two years shows that much of her policy agenda has failed.
Supreme Court justices stood with Brett Kavanaugh, his wife Ashley, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on the day of Kavanaugh’s investiture.
AP/Supreme Court provided
With Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, many predict that the court will move to the right on issues from abortion to gun rights. But Supreme Court rulings are often not the last word on a matter.
Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib became one of two Muslim women to be elected to Congress in the recent midterm elections. How voters gender-identify has an impact on how they vote.
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Men and women are not unified voting blocs. We must consider how voters identify themselves in terms of gender to truly understand how women and men think about politics.
There were 84 women in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 - and there are 106 in 2019.
Office of Nancy Pelosi
Research shows that women work more collaboratively than men in groups and create more inclusive solutions to thorny problems. More women in Washington could bridge America’s yawning partisan divide.
Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at her midterm election night party in New York City, Nov. 6, 2018.
Reuters/Andrew Kelly
After a year of headlines and ousted CEOs, Congress has yet to pass a single piece of legislation on sexual harassment – let alone hold a hearing. That may change as lawmakers get to work in 2019.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi spoke in D.C. the night of the midterm elections.
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Congressional midterm election spending will likely hit a record $5 billion. But the spending masks the main problem with US campaign financing: who gives the money and what they may get in return.
California’s Katie Porter, seen here with Democratic candidates and former president Barack Obama, is one of just three first-time female congressional candidates in California.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
A record number of women are poised to win public office in 2018. But don’t look to California for help shifting the gender balance in Congress during the ‘year of the woman.’
Demonstrators with cut-outs of congressional districts in front of the Supreme Court.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
One of the main reasons polarization in the US is on the rise – the way congressional seats are drawn to favor parties – isn’t going away anytime soon.
People of color, women and the LGBTQ community are just some of the groups who often get slighted with tax reforms.
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Artificial intelligence poses opportunities as well as dangers; understanding them – and regulating carefully – will help avoid harm to individuals and society as a whole.