Pelosi said this. I think of it as a responsibility as we go forward. And this isnt breaking a glass ceiling, this is breaking a marble ceiling in the capitol of the United States. Cnns Sunlen Serfaty is on capitol hill. Between nancy pelosi and her news and all these new freshmen members on both the house and senate, youve been talking to so many of this many, whats the feeling up on capitol hill right now . I think its an emotional day for many people, especially those incoming members. I can tell you in talking to a lot of them, the ones that make up the most diverse class into history ever, i think the moment is just not lost on them. They know their place in history. As theyre sworn in today, that are feeling the gravity of that moment, their place in history. This freshman class certainly ushering in a new face to congress as we said, the most diverse and the record breaking number of women, certainly a big notable storyli line coming aft midterms. I want to highlight one touching moment, an incoming member of congress from minnesota, shes the first somali woman, she posted this photo of her and her father arriving at the d. C. Airport saying the last time they arrived is when they were refugees 23 years ago. I spoke to her about that moment and her father there was by her side. You could sense the emotion of the moment. Heres what they had to say. As we exited our planes, we realized that him and i had not returned on that same airport. Nancy pelosi of the state of california has received 220. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] the honorable Kevin Mccarthy of the state of california has received 192. The honorable jim jordan of the state of ohio has received 5. The honorable Sherry Bustos of the state of illinois has received 4. The honorable Tammy Duckworth of the state of illinois has received 2. The honorable Stacey Abrams of the state of georgia has received 1. The honorable joseph biden of the state of delaware has received 1. The honorable marcia fudge of the state of hiohio has receive 1, the honorable Joseph Kennedy of the state of massachusetts has received 1, the honorable Thomas Massey of the state of kentucky has received 1, the honorable Stephanie Murphy of the state of florida has received 1. With three recorded as present. Therefore, the honorable nancy pelosi of the state of california, having received a majority of the vote cast is duly elected speaker of the house of the house of representatives for the 116th congress. [ cheers and applause ] the clerk appoints the following committee to escort the speakerelect to the chair. The gentleman from maryland, mr. Hoyer, the gentleman from california, mr. Mccarthy, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. Clyburn, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Scalise, the gentleman from new mexico, mr. Lieu han, the gentleman woman from wyoming, miss cheney, the gentleman. From new york, mr. Jefferies, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. Walker, the gentlemenwoman from massachusetts, miss clark, the gentleman from alabama, mr. Palmer, the gentleman from missouri, mr. Smith and the members of the california delegation, ms. Waters, mr. Call vert, ms. Eshue, miss lofgren, miss sherman, miss lee, miss in a politano, miss davis, mr. Schiff, miss nunez, mr. Sanchez, mr. Costa, miss matsui, miss speier, mr. Hunter, mr. Mcclintok, mr. Chu, mr. Berra, mr. Cardennias, mr. Lowenthal, mr. Peter, mr. Ruiz, mr. Swalwell, mrmr. Mrmr. Ing a mr. Agular, mr. Gomez, mr. Cox, ms. Hill, mr. Levin, ms. Porter, mr. Ruda. The committee will retire from the chamber to escort the speakerelect to the chair. In this is the moment, the this is the first person in this decade to return to the speakership in the house of representatives, nancy pelosi in her bright raspberry dress today. Happy new year to both of you ladies. Dana, i can still see scenes of you and now speaker plelosi eating ice cream in her old haunt in little italy in baltimore when you did that incredibly compelling interview with her. What does this moment feel like for her . Reporter well, its vindication. Its a reminder that being confident and being strong as a woman is not necessarily a bad thing and not a negative. It is, you know, the fact that you can persevere over an onslaught of negative attacks, which is certainly something that she has had to deal with, mostly from republicans over the and will continue to. Exactly. But being used as a club against her rank and file democrats in ad after ad after ad, some of which rubbed off. So thats why it wasnt as easy as it was 12 years ago to get the votes that she needed. She needed to make compromises. But that is a hallmark of her leadership and why and how she got to be where she is, because she understands the need for consensus and for compromise, not just across the aisle but with the people who she leads within the Democratic Caucus. So it was not a given that she was going to be able to do this again and she had to agree that she would be term limited. She is 78 years old, she is one of several Democratic Leaders who are about that age, and so there was a very big push for a new generation and it was not an accident that Hakeem Jeffries who a couple of hours ago i guess it was now gave the speech nominating her. He is the Democratic Caucus chair, that he is the one to do so. It seemed to me that that was an indication that she was making clear she was passing the baton to a new generation. Gloria, what do you think . I agree with dana. And let me say danas interview with her was absolutely amazing because she was so honest about what it has taken for her to get where she is. I was sitting up in the chamber in 2007 when she was first elected speaker and was surrounded by her children and her grandchildren, and it was such a moment because of course it was the first woman speaker and here she is again having lost the house, been defeated, people in her own party saying shes too old, we need new blood, and she made it very clear as she did to dana in danas interview that she knows how to count and she knows how to get things done. If you talk to anybody in the obama administration, they will tell you, including our colleague david axelrod, they would tell you they would not have gotten obamacare were it not for nancys ability to corral her democrats. Obviously we were there watching when she first became the very first female speaker, shes obviously still the only female speaker in the history of america. It was obviously an historic moment for women but she wasnt as she didnt wear her femininity on her sleeve and for lack of a better way to say it, her girl power on her sleeve the way she is now. When ive talked to her and seen her in other interviews since, the fact that she is very openly, aggressively, consciously trying to send messages to women of all parties in a nonpartisan way and of all professions, all walks of life that it is okay to be a powerful woman without, you know, getting all of the baggage that generally comes along with it. Sure. And i just want to remind everyone the quote, right, her daughter made news in the last 24 hours, you ladies know where im going to go because shes tough, man, woman in that position, not on do you have to know how to count, you have to be tough. This is what her daughter said, quote, shell cut your head off and you wont even know youre bleeding. So that from her own daughter. And again, by republicans, dana made the point a second ago about how shes known to being public enemy number one, were going into the 2020 election, she will continue to be, obviously who knows how this will evolve between her and the republicans in the senate and of course the guy over at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. I mean, how, gloria to you, how does she handle that . Well, look at the way she handled the meeting with donald trump and Chuck Schumer before the holidays in the oval office where she came right out and i thought that was such a moment where the president was kind of implying i know you got a race youve got to deal with and its a little difficult for you right now and she just shut him down. And she said dont characterize the strength that i bring to this meeting as the leader of house democrats. So she wasnt going to let him get away with that. Dont characterize the strength that i bring to anything. I think that was sort of an iconic moment for her, which is youre not going to get away with that, mr. President. As you know, in these interviews that shes been doing, she has not held back about what its like to deal with the president. She told nbc this morning, you know, youre not dealing with science, youre not dealing with facts, its very difficult. So i dont think shes going to hold back because shes being attacked by republicans. Being attacked by republicans for nancy pelosi is kind of old news. I mean, shes been the poster child for, i dont know, a decade maybe. Exactly. Exactly. So thats kind of old news for her. Now she needs to get something done and corral her democrats and not let them overreach. I think thats her real concern right now. Yeah. And the one thing i also want to add to that is that she obviously is not afraid to stand up to the president , but there is a mutual admiration there. I mean, talk to anybody who knows the president and they will tell you that he gets it. He gets that she is powerful. What is the president known to respect . People who made a lot of money and people who can wield their power. And people who play golf. I dont know how her golf game is but he respects the fact that she can wield her power in a pretty remarkable way, much more, as he saw, than the republicans who have led the house caucuses over the last several congresses. And so how that manifests itself with negotiations like the one we have in front of us now, you know, who knows. But if youre looking at real Bipartisan Legislation, which could happen, it could happen, infrastructure, Prescription Drug prices, things that do matter to both parties and to in the case of Prescription Drugs to every consumer and voter out there, maybe it could make a difference. But staying on for a second on trump and nancy pelosi and im sure you ladies as well being away on break for a minute, i got a lot of okay, new congress, whats this going to mean for president trump, what happens and what happens is, you know, this is really the first time that this president will be facing accountability in the sense that you now have democrats in control on the house side. And i know we cant predict the future, although a lot of people wish we could, gloria, what are the first couple of steps we will be witnessing for democrats pushing for answers do you think . Well, look, the democrats are going to be start off talking about the president s tax returns. Theyre going to want accountability on border policy. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is saying he might subpoena the acting attorney general to appear before the committee because he hasnt been answering his request to appear. Youre going to hear about ethicss aethi ethi ethics, laws, campaign finance, and laws on guns. Theyre going to push back on donald trump and exercise their oversight ability but they cant descend into chaos. They have to prove they have an agenda to present to the American People, whether its about drugs, Prescription Drugs. Lets hit pause and watch. [ cheers and applause ] california here we come [ laughter ] [ applause ] senators take their seats. House will be in order. Colleagues, friends and fellow americans, it is an honor to serve with you and to welcome you to the first day of the 116th of the United States house of representatives. [ applause ] we are here in this chamber because the faith of your neighbors and support of your families. We are here today to represent the voice and the vote of 325 million americans. Now i would like everyone to pause. I want you to reflect on this fact. In the last 230 years dating back to the founding of our republic, fewer than 11,000 americans have had the privilege to stand here as a member of the house just as you do. Chosen by their fellow citizens to represent them in washington. What an amazing, invigorating and, yes, frustrating experiment that is, representative democracy. The ink was barely dry on the constitution when ben franklin wondered out loud whether this new nation was capable of keeping its government and its freedom that has been granted to us generation to generation. Centuries later people still harbor similar concerns. They wonder if congress truly represents them, if its still capable of solving big problems. Well, theres no guarantees. It is up to us, all of us in this room, to make congress work, to create and debate just like our Founding Fathers did many years ago, with courage, with commitment and resolve. We are a very small group with a very large responsibility. The burden on us 435 members is to represent 325 million americans faithfully, to Work Together so that tomorrow is better than today. As Ronald Reagan advised us, americas too great for small dreams. When we Work Together, we succeed together as one nation. Were now entering a period of divided government, but that is no excuse for gridlock or inaction. We are at our best when we focus not on retribution but on building a more Perfect Union. [ applause ] but while we seek cooperation, there is one core principle upon which we will not compromise, republicans will always choose personal freedom over government control. [ applause ] now, this very floor we serve on has hosted some of the toughest debates in nations history, but its also some of its most noblest achievements have happened here. This house has weathered types of triumph and crisis. It still stands because it is built not on sand but on the solid rock of constitutional principles. Today marks a new chapter in this house pursuit of a more Perfect Union. The country knows nancy pelosi as an experienced leader with three decades of service in congress, a fighter for her causes and a true trail blazer. Even when we disagree with one another completely, it is important to remember that we are bounded together in a common cause, our love for america. [ applause ] as fellow citizens and friends, let us lead together to show the people that we are truly their voice and their vote. In that spirit ns, in the spirif a more Perfect Union and in the unshakeable belief that america was, is and always will be the greatest nation on the face of the earth. [ applause ] and in that spirit, i extend my hand of friendship to every member of this body. And to the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, i extend to you this gavel. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] thank you very much, leader mccarthy. I look forward to working with you in a bipartisan way for the good of our country, respecting our constituents who every one of you, i respect you and the constituents who sent each and every one of us here. They expect and deserve for us to try to find our common ground, and we must try to do that. Stand our ground where we cant but always extend the hand of friendship. Hank y thank you, Kevin Mccarthy for your leadership. I look forward to working with you. Congratulations on being the leader of the party. [ applause ] and congratulations to each and every one of you. New members of congress, newly reelected members of congress, thank you for your courage to run for office and to serve in this distinguished body. Every two years we gather in this chamber for a sacred ritual under the dome of this temple of democracy, the capitol of the United States, we renew the Great American experiment. Im particularly proud to be woman speaker of the house of this congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote. [ cheers and applause ] and that we all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members of congress, the largest number in history. [ applause ] as leader mccarthy said, each of us comes to this chamber strengthened by the trust of our constituents and the love of our families. Let us congratulate and welcome all of the families who are here today. Thank you to our families. [ applause ] let me take the privilege of thanking my dear husband, paul, and our five children. Our five children, nancy, corine, christine, jacqueline, paul and alexandra and our nine grand children, natalie and alexander, liam, sean and ryan, thomas and paul, bella and octavio. Were so proud of all of our grandchildren and were proud of everyones grandchildren and children who are here today. And im proud of my dalesandro family who are here. In that spirit, my brother tommy, who was also mayor of baltimore, taught us through their example that Public Service is a noble calling, that we should serve with our hearts full of love and that americas heart is full of love. Singing that to us last night and my comrade who is an Italian American with all that pride i want to acknowledge tony bennett who is here with us today. Thank you, tony. [ applause ] he helped he helped he helped free the concentration camps during the time of world war ii, he marched with Martin Luther king, he is a true american patriot. Thank you, tony. And again, i want to thank my constituents from San Francisco, who have entrusted me to represent them in congress in the spirit of st. Francis, the patron saint of San Francisco and his song of st. Francis is our anthem, make me a channel of thy peace. We heard that in church this morning, but it is our mission. And let me thank our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our military families and care givers Whose Service reminds us of our mission to make our Service Worthy of their sacrifice, to our men and women in uniform. [ a