Nancy Pelosi elected as speaker of diverse U.S. House

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02:15

Nancy Pelosi was elected the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday as her party took majority control of the chamber following its election victory last November 6.

Pelosi, 78, is the only woman who has held the office before and is among a few elected officials to return to the post. She was the House speaker from 2007 to 2011 when her Democratic Party controlled the lower chamber.

She received 220 votes for speaker, while Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy got 192 votes. A smattering of others received the remaining votes in the chamber that holds 435 seats.

Nancy Pelosi (L) performs the ceremonial swearing-in with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and family during the start of the 116th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

In her floor speech upon accepting the speaker's gavel, Pelosi said that the House floor must be "America's Town Hall" where people's voices will be heard and affect lawmakers' decisions as she was trying to set a bipartisan tone for the new Congress.

She previewed her party's long-term priorities, including tackling climate change, lowering health care costs, investing in "green" infrastructure and "restoring integrity" to the government, while hinting at measures to end a partial government dragging into the 13th day on Thursday.

"Democrats will be offering the Senate Republican appropriations legislation to re-open government later today."

House Democrats challenge Trump on shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump, during an impromptu news briefing in which he took no questions, congratulated Pelosi after she was elected as the new speaker of the House the same day.

Meanwhile, Democrats wasted no time flexing their new power in the U.S. House of Representatives as they maneuvered to pass legislation backed by Pelosi that would end the shutdown while ignoring Trump's demand for 5 billion U.S. dollars for a border wall.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a White House press briefing with representatives of the National Border Patrol Council in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

The 2019-2020 Congress convened with roughly a quarter of the federal government closed, affecting 800,000 employees, in a shutdown triggered by Trump's demand, which was opposed by Democrats, as part of any legislation funding government agencies.

The two-part Democratic package includes a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through February 8, providing 1.3 billion U.S. dollars for border fencing and 300 million U.S. dollars for other border security items including technology and cameras.

The second part would fund the other federal agencies that are now unfunded including the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Commerce, and Justice, through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

The White House on Thursday issued a veto threat against both parts of the Democratic legislation.

(With inputs from agencies)