Pelosi’s Vision For Politics, Compromise, and Community

A Conversation With Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited LMU to meet with students, faculty, President Thomas Poon, Ph.D., and the LMU community. “Appreciate the education you have at this Jesuit institution,” she told students, “which is there for the greater glory of God as its value system.” Pelosi also agreed to be interviewed by LMU Magazine.

You have criticized the Congress for handing over its constitutional power to the Trump administration and the executive branch. Can only a new Congress repair the damage that you see?

Yes. I believe that the exquisite beauty of the Constitution is the separation of powers. Our founders made the legislative branch the focus of Article 1 and gave it powers to declare war, the power of the purse, and more. For this House and Senate to abdicate their responsibility to their oath of office — to support and defend the Constitution — is to enable the president of the United States to be what our founders did not want: a monarch. So, yes, it will take a new Congress, and we fully expect to win the 2026 elections, certainly in the House of Representatives. That’s one reason why I stayed in Congress for another term, to make sure we win this election. We need three additional seats to win; I want 30. 

Why does this country, with only a small number of people who are native to this land, have such a long, persistent history of vilifying immigrants?

When you look at American history, there always seems to be a hesitation, or insecurity, about what roles newcomers may play. I always say to the U.S. Catholic bishops when they come to me to talk about immigration, “Why are you coming to us? The Democrats are for immigration in our country. We understand we are a nation of immigrants and that the revitalization of our country is dependent on that reinvigoration.” The best speech on immigration was Ronald Reagan’s 1989 speech. It’s about the Statue of Liberty and how we are pre-eminent in the world because of the reinvigoration of new people coming to our country. Once we close the door, we will no longer be pre-eminent in the world.

Your B.A. degree is from Trinity College, now Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C., founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. What have you valued most in receiving an education at an institution launched by Catholic nuns?

You have to understand, in our immediate family — my husband and I, children and grandchildren — we have over 50 years of Catholic education. So, as for the value of my being taught by Catholic nuns from kindergarten to college, I loved it. To go to an all-women’s college, which was practically the only thing my parents would allow me to do, was heavenly. It was about our faith, in addition to our education and our gender. The leadership that we saw women exercise — because that’s who was there, women — was inspiring to all of us. 

To live well with others in any community — a very Catholic notion — requires an ability to compromise. What will it take to bring an0 end to America’s politics of hyperpolarization?

I think that compromise is not a bad word. Some people think it is. It’s about respect that you have to have toward other people’s point of view. The methods that you use to reach goals may differ, but the values are the same. That isn’t the situation that we’re in right now, because we have vast differences. We don’t have a respectful view of the Constitution of the United States. Every difference of opinion is not a matter of conscience — that was Thomas Jefferson, by the way. When we can, we try to find common ground. When we can’t, we stand our ground. I think it’s really important for people to know that we are respectful of differences of opinion. That’s what a democracy is all about.