Nancy Pelosi

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NEW MINORITY: Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and outgoing House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland prepare Tuesday for changes on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right), California Democrat, applauds as former service members Sgt. First Class Stacy Vasquez (left), current service member Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach and former service member Maj. Mike Almy hold the signed bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" during an enrollment ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) and others look on as President Obama signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act of 2010 during a ceremony at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington's Columbia Heights neighborhood on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) and others look on as President Obama signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act of 2010 during a ceremony at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington's Columbia Heights neighborhood on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves a House Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leave a Democratic Caucus meeting Wednesday. Mr. Biden has made personal pleas to both the Senate and House Democratic caucuses. (Associated Press)

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Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leave a Democratic Caucus meeting Wednesday. Mr. Biden has made personal pleas to both the Senate and House Democratic caucuses. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Maxine Waters took the floor of the House to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi for an investigation into the ethics committee's decision to place two of its attorneys on administrative leave. (Associated Press)

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A special select committee set up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, in 2007 was used as a vehicle to promote "cap-and-trade" legislation for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. (Associated Press)

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This video frame grab image provided by House Television shows Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., stands in the well on the House floor while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reads the censure resolution passed by the House on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. It was only the 23rd time that the House invoked its most serious punishment short of expulsion. (AP Photo/House Television)

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President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, want to repair their injured party after devastating congressional election losses but have diverging mandates at a critical time. (Associated Press)

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Associated Press photographs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, walk to a news conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, after being re-elected as the leaders of the House Democrats, although they will be in the minority in the 112th Congress next year.