nonconforming, every human being. and never forget that love is love is love is love is love. period. under the dome of this temple of democracy, we renew the great american experiment. >> she's the most powerful woman in the history of american politics. >> not just the first woman to be speaker of the house, the first woman to lead a political party in congress. >> she's like a nuclear sub. you don't hear it, you don't see it, but it's moving. >> the face of both the democratic party and its resistance to president donald trump. >> this administration just is in a downward spiral of

indecency. >> for years she's been a villain to the right. >> i think the message says it all. fire nancy pelosi. >> crazy nancy. she's lost it. >> today she's emerged as the president's most formidable rival. >> you said the most unfortunate thing. we came in here in good faith. >> it's a relationship like two boxers in a ring. >> she instinctively knows how to handle this guy. >> how did nancy pelosi hone the political skill that is allowed her to become such an enduring figure? on this "headliners," my one on one with the speaker of the house. >> is he fit to be president? ♪ i'm neek ka brzezinski here in the u.s. capitol, where nancy pelosi has gone where no woman

has ever gone before, becoming speaker of the house twice. a force of nature in washington, d.c., she has never been one to back down. whether the threat is president trump or rebellious members of her own party. >> we have certain values and principles that we cannot abandon. >> so you see this as a moment of opportunity? >> i do indeed. our diversity is our strength. but our unity is our power. >> i met with speaker of the house nancy pelosi on may 20th, j just before a major showdown at the white house stalled a possible deal to improve the country's infrastructure. >> i pray for the president of the united states. and i pray for the united states of america. >> we spoke about democracy. >> right there, see right there? that's where the first amendment is alive and well. >> and family. >> now i have seven grandsons and two granddaughters. >> oh my gosh. >> and most importantly, her relationship with the current

president, donald j. trump. is he fit to be president? >> well, the american people elected him president. not by the popular vote, but by electoral college. so i respect the office that he holds. >> okay. >> and i think i respect the office that the president holds more than he respects the office that he holds. and i do believe that we must hold him accountable. >> and it's that call for accountability that has apparently changed the dealings between the speaker and the president, from cordial -- >> i give her a great deal of credit for what she's done and what she's accomplished. to combative. >> a temper tantrum by the president. i'm a mother of five, grandmother of nine, i know a temper tantrum when i see one. >> i first met speaker pelosi through my parents. i father, brzezinski, national security adviser to president jimmy carter, counseled the

speaker on the ways the u.s. could withdraw from iraq. there were other encounters too. some with far less gravity. i've been looking at any sort of links between my family and yours, and in 2014 i found a picture of an unveiling of a sculpture of vaklov havel. i'm there, my dad's there, you're there. do you have any idea why zz top was there? >> i have to think back. >> me too, i couldn't figure it out. >> as for pelosi's parents, they never imagined their only daughter holding elected office. >> they wanted me to be holy. that's what made them proud. >> her story started in baltimore where her father, tommy dell asan droe, was the mayor and a congressman. as a little girl she slept on a bed with copies of "the congressional record" stuffed underneath. >> that was the life we knew. and it was the life that recognized that public service was a noble calling and we all

had a responsibility to each other. >> in baltimore political circles, pelosi's father was known as "big tommy." to distinguish him from his son hrks later became mayor. her mother, also named nancy, helped run the della sandro political machine. >> my mother had seven children. she was brilliant. she was a poet, she was ininterest venter. we grew up in a place where we were devoutly catholic. largely democratic. >> back then residents came to your front door often, asking for help. what are your memories of some of those exchanges? >> well. >> i just remember that our door was always open. so i kind knew what to say to people if they -- if the phone rang or somebody knocked on the door. they wanted a job or whatever it was, where to send them to go. >> big tommy's political pull

extended to the very top. he introduced 20-year-old nancy to senator john f. kennedy. she volunteered for kennedy when he ran for president, then visited the white house when jfk gave her dad a federal post. but for nancy, any future in politics was put on pause after she married paul pelosi, a student she met at a class she took at georgetown university. when he landed a finance job in new york, the couple moved there and started a family. how many kids in how many years? did you have a kid a year? >> well, when lex droe was born, our youngest, our fifth child, our oldest child was turning 6 that week. >> that sounds a little unmanageable. >> well, it was god's blessing. there's nothing i will ever do in my life or have done in my

life that was as important, special, enjoyable, savored by us, than being parents. >> young nancy had thought about going to law school, but when paul received a job offer in his hometown of san francisco, there was no doubt about their next move. adjusting to the west coast, was that an issue at all? >> well, it was more for my parents, who were in baltimore. it was home for paul. >> it was also where paul pelosi's family had ties to the local political establishment. >> you combine the connections that paul pelosi had and her sort of political dna, they lived in a very fancy part of san francisco, it was very natural for her to host fund-raisers. >> over the years, pelosi would become one of the democratic party's most effective fund raisers, consolidating power by bringing in money for candidates all over the united states. >> if this chandelier was in this room just like this and

nancy asked the chandelier for money, money would pour out of the chandelier. >> but raising money was just the beginning. coming up -- >> that was really what took me from kitchen to congress. nice. but, uh... what's up with your... partner? not again. limu that's your reflection. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ hey allergy muddlers... achoo! ...do your sneezes turn heads? try zyrtec... ...it starts working hard at hour one... and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. zyrtec muddle no more. let's get down to business. the business of getting it done. the business of road trips. the business of getting everyone back together. the business of hustle... ...and hard work... ...and whatever this is.

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when you're not, you pay for data by the gig. use a little, pay a little. use a lot, just switch to unlimited. get $400 back when you buy the new lg g8. call, visit or click today. after moving to san francisco in 1969, nancy pelosi began to gravitate toward politics and political fund-raising. jerry brown's upstart presidential campaign in 1976 caught her attention. pelosi was taken by the young governor and convinced him to campaign in her home state of maryland. >> i want to discuss some of the issues that i think are important for the campaign and the country. >> 1976. tell me if i'm correct. governor brown remembers sleeping in your family's home. >> oh, yes. >> while campaigning for president. what do you remember about that

campaign? >> mccarthy was speaker of the house and he was the chairman of jerry ace campaign. i said to them, my brother was mayor, my father was mayor, they had friends, grassroots organizations and the rest. so why don't we have the governor come? and he agreed to do that. and he was sense sational. >> with his rock star girlfriend, linda ronstadt, along with a fund-raising concert, brown swept through. >> i didn't think about maryland, baltimore. and she got a brother and others that basically ran the campaign. >> brown pulled off an upset victory in the primary and gave nancy and the d'alesandro family credit. >> the whole campaign basically came out of what i might say the d'alesandro organization. >> and jerry browns announced that i was the political architect of his maryland victory. >> that's so cool.

>> isn't that cool? then jerry brown said, you have to take a role in the democratic party, because i want one of my people there. >> got it. >> and i did and then here i am. >> that brought her out of the kitchen and into the big world of politics. >> in 1991, pelosi was selected to run the state democratic party. >> she became party chairman. you don't get to be party chairman if you can't raise money. and that's certainly one of the ways she propelled herself. >> so you're known as one of the most prolific fund-raisers in history. i want to know how you do it. >> when i was chair of the california democratic party, i was really an organizer. i wasn't a fund-raiser, i was an organizer who had to keep the doors open. but then i got to know a large number of people. it's about having contacts among the progrsives around the country. >> pelosi was a rising star in the democratic party. but always behind the scenes. never on the ticket herself. that was about to change.

in 1997, california congresswoman sala burton, a close friend of pelosi's, was diagnosed with cancer. >> shortly thereafter, she called me and she said, i want you to run. and i said, well, i've never even thought about running for office. i'm basically a very shy person. i like promoting other people. i understand politics, about how to win. but it's never been about me. she said, i just want you to tell me that you will run. because you love the issues. you should work on them. please tell me you will run. it will make me feel better. and i said, well, i'll run. i don't know if i'm going to win because i've never even run or office or thought about running for office. i just want to know that you will run. and just a couple weeks later, she passed away. >> that summer, pelosi ran in the special election for california's fifth congressional district. she was 46 years old. the race was a free-for-all with

14 candidates. >> she wasn't terribly well known. but she was very connected in democratic circles, which gave her access to a great deal of money. >> but all of that money didn't translate into popularity, with members of the party's progressive wing who attacked pelosi as a rich political insider. >> how can she relate to people like me? a single parent, working mother? >> it foreshadowed the political lied ning rod she'd become years down the road. >> it was a contentious primary and it was a hard race for nancy. >> she's never met a payroll, she's never had to worry about child care, never had a kid in the public school -- >> i don't think you have to be sick to be a doctor or poor to understand the problems of the poor. >> while she was attacked for her family wealth, it was her ability to raise money that helped launch her political career. pelosi collected and spent $1 million, more than all the other candidates combined.

>> as one of our legendary speakers in california once said, money is the mother's milk of politics. you've got to buy television, you've got to buy mailers, you've got to hire staff. those who don't develop that you don't see them because they don't survive. >> when the dust cleared, pelosi was the last candidate standing. >> she ended up getting votes from moderates, even some conservatives. and the irony here is that were it not for republicans and moderates, nancy pelosi never would have been in congress in the first place. >> your father, he was there when you were sworn in. >> yes. >> i can't imagine how, i don't know, beautiful that moment must have been. >> it was lovely. because during the campaign, he kept saying, don't worry about having a ticket for me for your swearing-in because as a former member i can go right onto the floor. i said, dad, i have to win first, i'm in a fight, you know. i have to win first. but it was lovely that he was there. and 2 1/2 months later, he passed away.

i didn't realize he was that close to the end. but it was wonderful that he was there. >> he was there for you. >> yeah. and my mother too. >> pelosi's first order of business was confronting the aids crisis reserve vaging her city. >> i came to congress. the first day my colleagues said, when you are sworn in, just say yes. do you solemnly swear, just say yes, i do. don't say anything else. nobody wants to hear from a new member of congress. so i said, well, okay. i'll just do what i'm supposed to do if that's what i'm supposed to do. so i get sworn in then the speaker, jim wright at the time, says the gentle woman from car want to say a few words? so of course i'm not going to turn that down, right? >> right, of course. >> so i thanked my parents and my constituents for the honor. and then i say, during my campaign, i told my constituents

that when i came here, i would tell them that i came to fight for hiv and aids funding. >> some of pelosi's new house colleagues were taken aback by her candor on the issue. >> and they said, why would you ever tell anybody that you came here for hiv and aids? that's the first thing they would know about you. so i said that because that's why i came here. because of hiv and aids. but it was a lesson to me of the discrimination our causes would have to face. >> a lesson in politics, one of many pelosi would learn as she found her way in washington. coming up -- >> i remember asking her, what do you see, what is your dream, what is your goal? and i remember her saying, i want to be speaker of the house. . liberty mutual customizes your car insurance,

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making her way through a house of representatives that was 95% male. >> there were only 23 women members of congress out of 435, only 23. so when i came, every place i would go, they would stop me and say, you can't go there, you can't go there, members only. and i said, i am a member of congress. you're a member of congress, you can go any place you want. shortly thereafter i was looking for a vote, something for hiv/aids, no doubt, because that was my focus early days here. and i started following one of my targets into the speaker's lobby and beyond. and i start to go into this room. and the officers are saying, congresswoman, you can't go there. and i said, i'm a congresswoman, i can go anywhere i want. >> right. >> congresswoman, it's the men's room. >> one place you can't go. or you don't want to go. >> don't even want to go, oh my god what a thought. >> senate minority leader chuck schumer, now a close ally and friend, first came to know

pelosi soon after she arrived in washington. >> when i was in the house, we had a dinner group, very diverse dinner group of congressmen who would get together every tuesday night. george miller, who was one of the leaders of the group, says to us, i'm bringing a new member of our group. she is the new congressman from san francisco, just elected, and she is going to be the first woman speaker. so before i ever met nancy pelosi, i was told that nancy would be the first speaker. and when i met her and saw who she was and how she was, i knew why he said it. >> former senator and fellow californian barbara boxer also became close friends with pelosi when they served together in the house. >> i remember asking her, what do you see, what is your dream, what is your goal? and i remember her saying, i want to be speaker of the house. now nancy does not remember this at all. i remember it as if it was yesterday. >> with the speakership still

years away, pelosi faced the first big test of her ability to master the political game in washington. in the summer of 2001, the democratic whip position opened up. in the history of congress, no woman had risen to that level. pelosi wanted the job, and she lobbied hard to get it. >> she made 150 phone calls to members of congress. each one patiently saying, hi, it's nancy. i'm interested in becoming the whip. let me tell you why. >> nancy pelosi is somebody who knows our caucus. she knows the names of the grandkids of people in our caucus. she knows what college you went to. she knows what your preference is, whether it's red wine or white wine or no wine. >> the stage was set for a spirited showdown between pelosi and her long-time friend, steny hoyer. >> there was this crazy history where pelosi and hoyer had been

interns together in a maryland senate office, you know, 40 years earlier. they'd gone their separate ways, now here they are running against each other. >> behind closed doors it was a tough fight. but in the end, nancy pelosi prevailed. >> i'm steny hoyer, former aspirant for whip. and here is a whip that is a symbol of your office. congratulations. >> i never asked anyone to vote for me because i was a woman, but i would hope that no one would vote against me because i was a woman. >> pelosi as ascension to whip came at a critical time. with the country still reeling from september 11th. president bush ordered an invasion of afghanistan. one year later, he sought congressional approval to invade iraq. >> i have asked congress to authorize the use of america's military, if it proves necessary, to enforce u.n. security council demands. >> under pressure from the president, nearly all republicans backed the measure.

and in a show of bipartisan support, so did a majority of democrats in the senate. even the most powerful tim in the house, minority leader dick gephardt, was behind it. >> if you're worried about terrorists getting weapons of mass destruction, or their components from countries, the first candidate you worry about is iraq. >> but nancy pelosi, gephardt's second in command, did not fall in line. flouting gephardt's authority, she spearheaded the opposition to the resolution. >> i say flat out that unilateral use of force without first exhausting every diplomatic remedy and other remedies and making a case to the american people will be harmful to our war on terrorism. >> she led a revolt against dick gephardt, the leader of the democrats, who had stood in the rose garden with george w. bush. she led a majority of house democrats to vote against the war in iraq. >> one of the worst mistakes our

country has ever made is the war in iraq. and i said at the time the intelligence does not support the threat. they said, are you calling the president a liar? i said, no, i'm not calling him a liar, i'm stating a fact. the intelligence does not -- it wasn't there. >> the joint resolution is passed. >> i never would ask anybody to vote a certain way on a war. i just told them why i was voting against the war. >> and that earned her real strong following among a number of the people on the left. >> in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, pelosi put the iraq war front and center. repeatedly hammering president bush. >> there has to be some change in the personnel in the administration. if the president doesn't want to make those changes, then we're just going to have to have a new president. >> in response to pelosi's attacks on the president, republicans struck back, giving rise to a new gop rallying cry, nancy pelosi, liberal menace. >> she is an identifiable

democratic bogeyman, boogieperson, however you want to put it, that has been a proven turnout mechanism for republicans. it scares them. >> she'll be the most liberal speaker of the house ever, ever in this country. and i think people are frightened about that. >> they'll so far to the left they'll guarantee the republicans' election. >> why do you try to sack the quarterback? because the quarterback's burning you. she's winning. coming up -- >> for our daughters and our granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling. menslg and put it in holographic displays, we could dissect around the tumor so we can safely remove it. when we first started, we felt like this might just not be possible but verizon 5g ultra wideband will give us the ability to do this. ♪

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i'm dara brown. the hour's top stories, the faa is investigating a plane crash at an airport in texas that killed all 10 on board. the small aircraft crashed into a hangar and burst into flames shortly after takeoff. nobody on the ground was injured. the san francisco pride parade was stopped for nearly an hour when demonstrators linked arms in the street to protest

police presence at the march. "the san francisco chronicle" says two people were arrested. now back to "headliners: nancy pelosi." after a bitter and contentious battle with the gop, nancy pelosi led democrats to victory in the 2006 midterm elections. >> tonight the american people have called for a new direction. they have called for change for america. >> democrats picked up 31 seats in the house, winning a majority and capturing control of the chamber for the first time in 12 years. after the new congress was sworn in on january 4th, 2007, the democratic caucus voted for their next speaker of the house. for many, there was only one choice. nancy pelosi.

>> she was very well positioned to pick up that mantle and very well positioned to sort of take advantage of it. >> pelosi's control of the caucus was so complete, not a single democrat ran against her. >> the honorable nancy pelosi of the state of california is duly elected speaker of the house of the representatives for the 110th congress. >> nobody had gotten close to the speakership being a woman, and suddenly here's pelosi. >> even pelosi's rivals couldn't help but acknowledge the moment. >> our leaders have always selected a man for the responsibility and honor as serving as speaker of the house. always, that is, until today. >> to watch the gavel being actually handed to pelosi, into a woman's hands, it's a seminal moment in women in power in washington. >> for our daughters and our granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling.

>> she's underappreciated. because no one really stops to think about what the job of speaker is. that she's the first woman to gain the trust of all these disparate members, half of whom think they should be president of the united states, and the other half think they should be united states senator. i don't think i'll ever forget nancy having the children around her. >> let's hear it for the children. we're here for the children. >> and suddenly there were kids come running up. >> it's an amazing piece of tape. and -- yeah. it doesn't get my better. >> nancy pelosi became america's first madam speaker. just as the democrats took control of both chambers of congress. >> nancy pelosi walked into a situation that would be the dream of almost any speaker of the house, and that was she had a large democratic majority,

there was a massive democratic majority in the senate as well. >> change has come to america. >> two years later, the country elected its first african-american president, ushering in a new era with ambitious goals. >> let there be no doubt, health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year. >> high on the priority list, sweeping legislation that would give millions of uninsured americans health care. responsible for the critical task of getting the votes in the house, nancy pelosi. >> talk to me about why the affordable care act to you is fundamental. >> we believe that health care is a right for all, not a privilege for the few. and that it's not only about affordable care, it's about patient protections and affordable care. >> we do not want this bill passed, we want to kill the bill! >> reaction to what republicans

disparagingly called obamacare was heated. >> go back to washington, d.c. and tell them, leave our health care alone. we deserve better. we are taking a stand today. >> this is the most unconstitutional thing i've ever seen in my life. >> amid the intense debate over obamacare, senator ted kennedy, a staunch supporter of health care reform, passed away. the loss of his senate seat to republican scott brown cost the democrats their 60-seat super majority. any health care bill now needed republican support to pass in the senate, which did not exist. to many on capitol hill, the affordable care act looked dead on arrival. but not to nancy pelosi. >> the press would say to me, doesn't look like you're going to false this, what are you going to do? are you going to give up? and i said, well, no, we believe

this is the challenge of our generation. >> behind closed doors, white house chief of staff rahm emanuel pushed to scrap much of the bill. for a series of smaller, more incremental measures with a better chance of republican cooperation. >> the white house wanted to break it up into pieces, take this now, a piece here, a piece there. and nancy pelosi said, no, under no circumstances. we are going to move forward, and we are going to win this vote. >> the president sided with pelosi. >> the time for talk is over. it's time to vote. >> by march 2010, democrats found a way forward. an intricate congressional procedure that would allow them to maneuver the affordable care act through both houses without republican support. but first speaker pelosi would have to corral the necessary democratic votes in the house, which would muster all of her political mastery and capital.

>> we are on the verge of making great history for the american people, and in doing so, we will make great progress for them as well. >> she knows how to count votes in the house and play the game in the house like few other people have. and to keep people with her in terms of handing out committee assignments, subcommittee assignments, contracts, things that only a speaker really has the power to do. >> we're not going to let any barrier stand in the way. and if there is a barrier, we will go up the fence, we will go push open the gate. if that doesn't work, we'll climb the fence. if that doesn't work, we'll pole vault in. if that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. but we're not letting anything stand in our way of passing the affordable care act. >> but just days before a final vote, a mutiny erupted within pelosi's own party. coming up -- >> she basically said, if we don't stick together, it's not going to pass. of a lifetime. it's "progressive on ice."

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in march of 2010, with the house on the brink of passing the affordable care act, members of nancy pelosi's caucus rebelled. >> the question tonight is whether enough right-leaning democrats will go along when the votes are cast tomorrow afternoon. tonight it's down to the wire. >> conservative democrats, led by michigan's bart stupak, refused to vote for the bill without assurances that federal funds would not be used for abortions. >> you think the bill will pass right now, congressman? >> right now, today, no. >> house speaker pelosi joined forces with the white house and brokered a crucial last-minute compromise. president obama agreed to sign an executive order guaranteeing no federal funds would be used d for abortion. >> we come with an agreement to

protect the sanctity of life in the health care reform. >> it's never easy to get people from a variety of ideological backgrounds inside your own tent to cooperate. >> on march 21st came the final vote. with the future of health care reform resting on the speaker's shoulders. >> there were no republicans who were supporting it at all. it was something where liberals demanded a public option, which was a more progressive piece of it. conservatives said, it's almost like socialism. pelosi kept them all together. >> watched closely from the white house, the vote was a cliffhanger years in the making. and the ultimate test of nancy pelosi's political mastery. >> she basically said, if we don't stick together, it's not going to pass. >> on this vote the yeas are 220. the nays are 211. the bill is passed. >> two days later, president

obama signed the health care reform bill into law. after the historic victory, speaker bell loissy became an even bigger target for the gop. >> these hats might make us look a little undignified but i think the message says it all. fire nancy pelosi. >> in the run-up to the 2010 midterms, republicans like then national committee chairman michael steele hit the campaign trail with their sights set on pelosi. >> fire pelosi! >> the power center at that time wasn't with barack obama, it was on capitol hill. it was manifest in the leadership of nancy pelosi as speaker of the house and her ability to at that time corral the votes she needed to get obamacare, the affordable care act, passed. >> pelosi has grown into a power-hungry -- >> republicans across the country joined this with a barrage of increasingly

vitriolic political ads, even portraying pelosi as a witch. >> i'm going to throw a little water on politicians who say one thing and do another, like nancy pelosi. >> come election day, it appeared the strategy worked. in a crushing blow, democrats lost 63 seats in the house. giving republicans majority control. >> she became a representation of all those politicians out there that weren't doing their job and weren't meeting the expectation of the people. and then had the arrogance to come at you and say -- >> for pelosi it was a low point in a long career of highs. amid calls to step down, she chose instead to run for house minority leader. >> she surprised a lot of people after that election saying, i don't think i should step aside. >> nancy pelosi faced a challenger, north carolina's heath schuler, a member of the blue dogs, a group of democratic

conservatives. >> there are more than just the blue dogs who have a concern with what is going on. and that message has been loud and clear. >> schuler garnered 43 votes of support, but it wasn't even close. pelosi finished with 150 and retained control of the caucus as minority leader. >> this is a woman who knows the ins and outs of the people that she leads. and that's what makes her such a great leader. >> this is an experienced, diverse leadership team that is very strong, a team that took us to victory in '05 and '06 and will take us to victory again. >> but even the savvy veteran did not see the political phenomenon known as donald trump coming. >> donald trump is a here today, gone tomorrow candidate for president of the united states. >> in one of the biggest upsets in american history, donald trump won the presidency to become the country's 45th commander in chief.

early on the mind leader clashed with the president on a host of issues, including immigration. in early 2018, with activists across the country protesting president trump's attempts to end the daca program -- >> thank you, mr. speaker -- >> pelosi literally took a stand, speaking for more than eight hours, demanding protections for dreamers. it was the longest continuous speech in house history. done at age 77 and in four-inch heels. >> first of all, let us thank and acknowledge the dreamers for coming with their optimism, their inspiration to make america more american. thank you. >> we are a nation of immigrants. every person has recognized the value of immigration to america except this president. what he is doing is not only wrong in terms of who we are as

a nation, it's really a departure from the belief that we're all god's children that everyone has a spark of divinity, and we have to respect that. >> when voters went to the polls for the 2018 midterms, two years of donald trump's presidency inspired a blue wave in the house. >> the votes keep coming and the democrats keep winning. >> wow. what a night. what a night. >> democrats picked up 40 seats in the house to clinch the majority, a caucus that included dozens of freshman representatives. nancy pelosi expected to lead them as house speaker. but many were looking for a fresh face at the helm. >> now questions about the future democratic leadership in the house. a group of democrats say they've got enough votes to block nancy pelosi. >> in my district you need to hear what people are telling you. on both sides of the aisle. a new generation of leadership. >> the detriment to nancy pelosi

in the mines of a lot of people that she's been around the block too many times, that she's not a brand that extends past the democratic base. >> pelosi went in to quell the rebellion but at a cost. she agreed to step down as speaker in four years, a compromise that signaled the beginning of the end of her career. but also at 78 her unmatchable skills as a political survivor. >> this time she had to stitch together alliances among some people who wish they had said they wouldn't support her, but she got over 200 members of the caucus to get behind her. >> having once again asserted her control over the house, nancy pelosi elected speaker when the 116th congressman in january of 2019. >> this is not for the faint of heart. it is understanding the political process and having a spine of steel. >> it was the first time a speaker returned to power after

losing a majority in more than half a century. >> i'm particularly proud to be a woman speaker of the house in this congress, which marks thmae 100th year of women having the right to vote. >> back in power, nancy pelosi was about to face her biggest battle yet. coming up -- >> the state of the union speech has been canceled by nancy pelosi because she doesn't want to hear the truth. >> the second speakership for pelosi pitted her against president trump as the leader of the democratic party. funny whas when people get together. we're there. so you can be too. holiday inn. holiday inn express. - [narrator] do you remember that day? that day you met your hero? - ms. bird, do you think i could be a champion like you? - of course you can. and you can call me sue. - [jibber] jibber jabber, coming through!

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together, we will let it be known that this house will truly be the people's house. >> after overcoming resistance from opponents within her democratic caucus, nancy pelosi

officially received the speaker's gavel on january 3rd, 2019. >> the second speakership for pelosi has been the truly important one. it has pitted her against president trump as the leader of the democratic party. the fight started the month before she was sworn in, when she and senate minority leader chuck schumer met with president trump about a deal that would include building the wall he proposed on the mexican border. >> the president so often just makes stuff up. numbers, facts, et cetera, and we said we're going to confront him. not in a harsh way. we're going to confront him. >> if i needed the votes for the wall in the hour, i'd have them in one session thand we'd be do. >> to those who questioned pelosi's ability to deal with trump, the way she conducted herself in the oval office was a turning point. >> but there are no votes in the house, a majority of votes for

the wall. >> we had planned to one-two punch ahead of time but it worked beyond our wildest expectations. >> the most unfortunate thing. we came in here, in good faith, and we're entering into a -- this kind of a discussion in the public view. >> but it's not bad, nancy. it's calls transparency. >> i wanted to kind of say, why do we have to do this in public because we have to contradict you. it was his insistence that the press stay there. >> wow. >> and i think that he thought he could just get away with saying whatever he wanted to say. >> yeah. >> without any challenge. >> did it strike you at that moment, maybe he's not very smart? were you surprised? >> well, no, i'm never surprised. what i was, though, was that this looks like a person who is used to getting his own way. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck, because the people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. so i will take the mantel.

i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame you for it. >> the person who shuts the government down almost always loses. >> what followed was the longest federal shutdown in u.s. history stretching for 35 days. >> the reality is the president could end the trump shutdown and reopen government today, and he should. >> as the shutdown continued, pelosi disinvited the president from his own state of the union address in the house chamber while giving him the option of delivering it from the oval office or in writing. >> t.s. elliott said most things don't end with a bang but with a wimper. this shutdown ended with a wimper. it was president trump having to recede and spin his way out of the shutdown and say it was over. >> in a short while, i'll sign a bill to open our government. >> no one should ever

underestimate the speaker as donald trump has learned. >> when the state of the union occurred, nearly two weeks after the government reopened, the speaker read along while the president spoke. >> and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. as the chamber applauded, pelosi replied with a clap that seemed to radiate with sarcasm. >> at that moment he said he wanted to work in a bipartisan way. and while some will doubt what i say now, honestly, i was applauding him saying, now you're talking. now you're talking. but people thought it was more a mock of him than anything. >> it was like, sure, okay. >> no, honestly, it was, okay, now you're talking. >> people in her party loved it because they wanted to see that confidence in the trump era from their own leadership. >> republicans saw the clap more as a rude gesture.

but president trump was uncharacteristically silent on the matter. in fact, pelosi seemed oddly immune from the president's social media venom and name-calling. that all changed after pelosi accused the president of obstructing justice in the russia probe. >> we believe that no one is above the law, including the president of the united states, and we believe the president of the united states is engaged in a cover-up. >> trump responded with insults. >> crazy nancy. she's not the same person. she's lost it. >> and as some members of her party pushed for impeachment, politico reported that pelosi told democratic leaders the president deserved imprisonment instead. on fox news, president trump's respectful tone toward pelosi now turned to fury. >> i think she's a disgrace. she's a nasty, vindictive, horrible person. >> we're at a place where the president of the united states

is not honoring his oath of office. he is in violation of the separation of powers which is the heart of the matter of our constitution. beyond that you wonder, what do the russians have on this president, politically, financially, personally, that he is allowing them to get away with disrupting our election? >> those questions may ultimately fall to congress to answer. no matter what happens during the rest of her tenure, nancy pelosi has already forged an indelible place in the american political narrative. >> she has shaped history, made history. she hasn't stopped making history, and regardless how fouf and rough the waters are, she's the best swimmer of all. >> from many, one. they couldn't possibly imagine how many we would be or how different we would be. but they knew that we had to be

one. we have certain values and principles that we cannot abandon. >> and you're certain we're going to be okay? >> oh, yeah. we'll be okay. because i have confidence in the american people. ♪ ♪ hopelessness. where did she go? who did she see? i just want to know what happened to my sister. >> a young mother is missing in a case gone cold. >> that was so important to me to know the truth behind that evening. >> then detectives had an ah-ha moment. to solve the case, they'd turn to something you probably use every day. facebook. >> why don't you establish a facebook account? i thought that could accomplish a great