Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) stated on CNN's “State of the Union” that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the “most effective” leader he has ever had the pleasure of working with.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “You go a long way back along with speaker Nancy Pelosi. You were both interns at the offices of Daniel Brewster in the 1960s.”
Hoyer stated, “I think that story does not get enough exposure. Nancy was in the front office working as a receptionist. I was right next to her on an uni-parting half wall dealing with appointments at the academy opening mail, and other tasks that interns and part-time staff do. We were in the same office together. About 40 years later, she became the speaker, and most of the time, we were also majority leaders.”
Bash stated, “The other story about the Pelosi-Hoyer friendship is that it's an intricate one. You fought each other to be whips in 2001. She backed your opponent in the race for the position of leader in 2006. What would you say about this relationship?”
Hoyer stated, “I think we have an extremely friendly relationship. I think we've got a business-like relationship. I really like Nancy. Nancy is an amazing human being. She's indefatigable. She's incredibly energetic and has remarkable memories of what we've done and has an idea of what we should be doing. I would say she's probably the most effective politician I've worked with through the many years. I was quite unhappy when I ran for the office of majority leader. She backed my opponent very strongly as you can recall. However I did win fairly easily according to your memories.”
