Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris for president

Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the U.S. House and a longtime LGBTQ+ ally, has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

“With immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Pelosi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

The endorsement from Pelosi, who still represents California’s 11^th Congressional District, is a major one for Harris. Pelosi had been said to favor an open convention if President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee, which he did Sunday, but this ends any speculation that she would push for that.

Pelosi hadn’t made a public call for Biden to step down, but it’s been reported that she was privately urging him to do so. When he made his announcement, she released this statement: “President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history. With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment. God blessed America with Joe Biden’s greatness and goodness.”

Pelosi was the first woman to be House speaker, holding that post from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. The speaker is traditionally a member of the majority party, although this is not a requirement. She was minority leader from 2003 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2019, when Democrats were in the minority. She announced in 2022 that she would not seek a leadership position in the upcoming session of Congress.

Like Harris, a fellow Californian, Pelosi has long been a reliable LGBTQ+ ally, pushing for AIDS funding, marriage equality, and antidiscrimination legislation. “Progress has been made, but you know as well as I do that there’s still more work that needs to be done,” she told The Advocatein a Pride Month interview this year. “Pride is one of my favorite times of the year, and one of the reasons is that the community has been an intellectual resource, an emotional resource, and a political resource just in every way. It’s been a joy to work with, and I take great pride in that.”