event since the pandemic -- this was the first in person event at the library since the pandemic. ♪ >> i am the vice chairman of the lbj library and foundation, and i want to welcome each and every one of you here. i can think of no more appropriate program for us to have in person for the first program in two years at this auditorium. president johnson wanted this

library to be a depository of his papers and his record that he achieved while he was in public office, but he also wanted this facility to be a meeting place of leaders, patriots, and people like you and me to meet and hear the voices of our leaders of our time, discuss the issues and rededicate ourselves to making certain that we preserve this republic and that our democracy is here for our generation and the generations that follow us. this is a very difficult time for america. it is a very troubling time. as we have seen on our television screens and on our newspapers, the terrible, terrible war going on in ukraine , the massacre of children,

women, it is almost unbelievable. but there is no more important person to discuss these challenging times, and there is not a voice that has brought america together more than the voice that we will hear tonight. -- entitled one of his books the master of the senate, and lyndon johnson was certainly the master of the senate, but i assure you tonight in the almost 300 year history of our country that we will be hearing from the master of the house. we will be hearing from woman that has been able to bring together -- [applause] america in such difficult times, and i have the great honor to introduce a very appropriate young lady who is going to introduce the speaker, and she

is a student at the lbj school. she is a graduate of university of california davis, a first-year student near as i said. she is here because we have a washington campus at the lbj school and that is a paid commercial because i am so much in favor of the washington campus, but she is here to make a mark. she is already making a remark, she is an outstanding example of a highly qualified student we are attracting to the school, so i anxious for you to hear from her and here -- hear her introduce our speaker. deshaun carr, please come forward. [applause] >> thank you, governor barnes, for those kind remarks.

i am a master in public affairs d.c. concentration candidate at the lyndon b. johnson school of public affairs. first i would like to think the lyndon b. johnson school of public affairs and lbj foundation for allowing me to introduce the first woman ever in united states history to be speaker of the united states house of representatives, the audible nancy pelosi. in case you forgot, this is women's history month, so having her here is icing on the cake, but the flavor of the cake is chocolate. from leading and spearheading the affordable care act back in 2009 and advocating for many americans for covid-19 relief to weather these unprecedented times, speaker nancy pelosi is broken many barriers and shattered many glass ceilings throughout her monumental

career. she is a trailblazer in force to be reckoned with when creating impact and enacting social change for those she serves. for many women, speaker nancy pelosi has led the way and being persistent in spaces that were never created for her to be a powerful and strong leader. in fact, i know a thing or two when it comes to be persistent in spaces that were never created for me, a black woman, to be a changemaker a leader for my community. like speaker pelosi i too am from california. my commitments to advancing equity in advocating for historically underrepresented groups stems from my upbringing in sacramento, california, being a first iteration college student at the university of california davis and my previous work experience being a program evaluator in the san francisco bay area california working for a consultancy firm.

being a student at the lbj school of public affairs has allowed me to continue my journey in advancing equity. as a future changemaker who will be touching down in d.c., this may, i hope to be in similar spaces and break barriers like speaker nancy pelosi. thank you, and i would like to know welcome to the stage the lbj school president and speaker nancy pelosi. [applause] >> madame speaker, as were daughter so eloquently coded -- but it your lbj's soulmate as

the master of the house. speaker pelosi: it is my honor to be here, and i think deshaun for her lovely introduction and then barnes for being then barnes -- ben barnes. i am a temple marker person, i follow abraham lincoln. he always started with a temple marker, this very day as we sit here a woman is being confirmed to be a justice, a black woman, the first black woman to be justice of the supreme court. [applause] it is so remarkable, but why i bring it up right now to start is because i want to say something about lbj.

yesterday when the justice to be was being introduced and she did her opening remarks, she commented that she stood on the shoulders of constance baker motley. they share a birthday. but what i am here to tell you tonight is she stood on her shoulders but constance baker motley was the first black woman to be a federal judge. constance baker motley was appointed the first african-american woman federal judge by lyndon johnson in 1960. [applause] he is always a cause for celebration. >> there was a lot going on in the world, including hearings

around ketanji brown jackson, but all eyes on the world are on ukraine. president zelenskyy gave a very moving address to congress last week in which he closed with a video where the words close this guy over ukraine, employed the u.s. to impose a no-fly zone. are we failing ukraine by not imposing a no-fly zone? speaker pelosi: first, let me say what an honor it was to have a call from the president of ukraine with a list of to do items, and one of them was to make a joint session. since we are family intimately let me tell you about that call. we have never had a joint session of congress with a leader of another country transmitted from thousands of miles away.

so we had to establish revenue, all of this to perfection, practice, practice, so when the world was watching it would all work. right before the speech, the president then suggests that he would like to have a video on it. any of you know about videos, you know it is not necessarily reliable, especially from thousands of miles away, and we prayed, we worked, but if we had a few days notice it would've been better than if you minutes. it was the most compelling video, but we knew that it would work when it worked, and it had such a tremendous impact to see grown men and women crying in that auditorium.

it was wonderful. u.s. the question about the no-fly zone. there is nothing putin would like a better than for us to engage in establishing a no-fly zone, because that would be entry into a third world war, except to say -- sad to say with the nuclear power. so what we want to do -- and he said in the speech he said if you cannot give that this is what else i want. he segued into other requests as he has done in their goals, as i have heard from the speaker of their parliament as to what they would like to see, so we went very strict sanctions executed and effective. we want to have weapons of severe lethality to be sent and

have been sent. and they asked for this, they asked for the weapons, they asked for the sanctions, they asked for reconstruction of the country when this is over, and they asked for humanitarian assistance now in a more inside of ukraine but also for the refugees, 10,000 refugees, some outside the country, some displaced internally, all of it a crime against humanity. putin must be defeated. the president signed the bill last week for $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic, and

military assistance for ukraine, but we will need to do much more , but we cannot engage in a no-fly zone because that is the invitation, that is the bait, that is the taunt of putin, and it just cannot happen. there are many people in our country wants us to do as much as possible. very little appetite in our country for us to go to work with russia -- wit -- war with russia. >> short of imposing a no-fly zone are you confident the biden doing everything to prevent russia from invading ukraine, from taking over ukraine? speaker pelosi: they have invaded as we know, but taking over. let me just say, my opinion is

one shared by the leaders of the free world. i was in munich or the security conference. it was leaders from nato countries or other countries, whether it was the head of nato, eu, everybody was very complementary of president biden for how he has handled this, and how we are working together. he has a vision of peace, he has experience as the chair of the foreign affairs committee for many years. as vice president of the united states and now as president, and what he has done leading up to this is for one thing the intelligence. he made a decision that our intelligence would be declassified and everybody could see what we knew putin was up to and he could see that we knew what he was up to.

those were -- there were those that were doubters. when he went in and in the manner in which he has gone in, allies thanked us and some apologize for not accepting that intelligence right from the start. let me tell you this kind of connection to the library, i was at the inauguration of john f. kennedy and lyndon johnson, i was a student. it was a long time ago, i was a student, and i heard in that speech, does anybody in the world not know what president kennedy said, ask not for -- i will not even finish it because you can finish it together. some of you were not born then, some of your parents were not born then but i was a student then.

i said to the president on st. patrick's day, the very mr. president, president kennedy said for you. what we can do working together for the freedom of mankind, and that is exactly what joe biden did, working together, no condescension, no here we are the big guy on the block, just working together, so everything has been in unison with nato and countries beyond nato in terms of sanctions and other support. so i think that the president has done a remarkable job. when i was in munich, and that was around the 24th of february,

zelenskyy came and spoke, we listen to heads of state or met with them, and all of the other countries were very complementary. mind you, mind you, the previous leader we had been to, we had covid. did you before that we had a different administration in washington d.c., and when i went to munich it was exasperation. they were debunking nato, disassociating ourselves from our transatlantic allies, so we are back. we are back into the alliance. [applause] >> this is one of the proudest moments in our nation's history, world war ii, when we save the

world from tyranny and totalitarianism and ensured that freedom and democracy could survive in this world. what happens if vladimir putin is successful and russia does indeed take over ukraine? what are the ramifications of that? speaker pelosi: he has already failed, by all accounts it is a stalemate, and it may be better than that for the ukrainians. putin to be in a stalemate with ukraine, he is already fairly and he is going to feel more. even if you were to try to put in a puppet government, he has bitten off more than even he can chew, because that is never going to be a success for him. never going to be a success for him.

countries that are members of nato are concerned about how other -- catherine the great, she carried her borders in her suitcase. he thinks he can just go anyplace and that his his country -- is his country. one of the things he was successful in doing is totally unifying the world against them in terms of nato and democratic countries around the world against him. i just wish -- one of the problems is that he has name drop, president of this country or that country or that country. they have to understand that this information that he is putting into my country. they paint some kind of a

picture of the ukrainians as if they invited this. this is a very evil person, very, very evil person. and he is telling the same lies to the people of russia. they should not make them accomplices and what he is doing there, but in keeping the truth from them he is curtailing any negative opinion they might have of what he is doing. what he is doing is making up stories about a nazi country, a jewish president and he is saying it is a nazi country. what? this is tragic.

i asked some of the leaders who had been in the room i was in, in one room or the other, and i said is he all their? we have had our suspicions of some presidents not being all their -- there. [laughter] [applause] they were not going to make a diagnosis, but what they said universally, he has a very evil person. that is what we are dealing with here. we have to always take pride in what happened, world war ii and the success of it all, and again, he must fail, and how about the courage of the ukrainian people? [applause]

>> what is -- if he is successful in taking over the country, would it embolden china and other rogue nations across the world to do something similar? what china be emboldened to take over taiwan? speaker pelosi: yes, i do not know how much emboldening they need, that is part of their attention. but i think they are even seeing the pariah has become -- putin has become to the world and president biden said -- i have not had this briefing because i have not been in d.c. to have it, but in the public domain it was clear he said there will be consequences if you help russia in all of this.

when i go back i will get more of a substantial briefing as to what transpired. i usually would. china should take no hard and the reaction that putin is getting from the rest of the world. however, they have been preparing or shall we say some nastiness for a while. on a bipartisan basis, house and senate, there is tremendous support for taiwan to be able to defend itself in the same manner as we say of ukraine. it is not a land access, the ability to defend against it is quite different, but let's hope

that is not the case. that is something we watched carefully. >> just as democracy is threatened abroad, we have our challenges with democracy at home. you have alluded to the former president timer two. president trump continues to perpetuate the notion that the 2020 election was stolen. how much damage you think donald trump continues to do to our democracy as a former president? speaker pelosi: do we have to talk about him? [laughter] [applause] i would rather talk about lyndon b. johnson myself. let me just say -- let me make this as brief as i can. january 6 was an assault on the capitol, on our constitution and

our congress. on january 6, that is the day, that wednesday is the date where the congress of the united states certifies the election of the president. it is called the peaceful transfer of power. there was an instigation, an incitement. [laughter] by what's his name, and believe me, i respect the office of president. i respect the office of president more than some people who might've occupied that. so that happened, they came with guns, they wanted to hang the vice president, they wanted to shoot me in the head. i am second in line to the president of the united states, that is something that will

never happen, but that is something the constitution says, so i have a lot of security but i was concerned for my members, also staff, custodial staff, the people who work there all threatened by these people. so that happened that day. what was said about that day is that night when we said we are going back to that capitol and say maybe you can do the work of congress in an undisclosed location. we would go to the floor, everyone agreed, chuck schumer, even mitch, but even when we were there at 4:00 in the morning, overwhelmingly the party voted not to certify the election of joe biden.

that was even more heartbreaking than the bloody coup that was on the floor of the capitol building just to be graphic about it. what happened since then? hundreds of bills across the country to undermine the election, to suppress the vote especially the people of color. how about this one? nullified the elections. now we will decide what that means. that is the undermining of democracy. undermining of democracy. what? you are passing bills that state you want to appoint two or three people who will determine the results of the election? so this is as tragic as january 6 in certain respects as the assault on democracy that it is, so we have to make the fight,

and by the way that makes this election, from a static standpoint, it makes the election in november very important, because our democracy is on the ballot. but it is not our campaign, it is there, the public expects us to save our democracy but they want to know what we are doing for their lives, and that is what joe biden told them at the state of the union. we have done good things, our infrastructure package, our rescue package but more needs to be done. he spoke that more would be happening because he had empathy for concerns at the kitchen table, whatever decisions they have to make about bills and what keeps them up at night, so

the way to save our democracy is to win on the economic front in terms of meeting the needs of the american people, but we should not be in the situation. really? nullifying elections? >> i want to talk about voting rights in a moment, but before we move on from the subject of the former president, are you confident the justice department is doing everything that it can do to make sure donald trump is held accountable for currency may have committed? speaker pelosi: i have not nor should i have the faintest idea. the justice department is the justice department. our january 6 committee is seeking and finding the truth, which becomes a matter of public

record, and hopefully we will see with the justice department does, but i would have no idea. let me say on that score, because again, remember i said overwhelmingly the republicans voted against certifying joe biden and kamala harris. we had a movement to have a bipartisan outside commission, we passed it in the house in a bipartisan way, not overwhelmingly come a bipartisan way, at the senate wanted to do that as well. senator collins and others said -- the report i got was they would have 13 republican votes, you need 10 to get 60. 13 republican votes, that is what they thought they had until mitch mcconnell went around and

said to the republican senators do me a personal favor and vote against this bipartisan commission. what? how could that be? you do not want to seek the truth in a bipartisan outside commission, a standard of expertise whether it is the constitution or the security of our country, those kinds of standards. but he according to what republican senators have told me , so it did not pass the senate. we were not going to abandon seeking the truth, so we had the great bipartisan committee in the house, very courageous members starting with liz cheney , who has been an outstanding patriot for our country and adam

kinzinger. [applause] and we are very proud of our german, bennie thompson of mississippi, and other members as well. we will do what we need to do to seek the truth. we have great investigative staff, but we do not bring charges to the justice department, we would have no knowledge of what their plans are. >> the john lewis voting rights advancement act has passed in the house but not the senate. there are many who do not think it is viable. what is that quickest path to ensuring voting rights are upheld in our nation for those who were registered to vote? speaker pelosi: it is emotional to talk about john lewis because i served with him for over 30 years, and we were in the same class. he was just a remarkable person to serve in congress and so

values based a purposeful. actually, the first bill we talked about, john lewis wrote the first 300 pages of that bill , and that was about stopping the suppression of the vote and nullification of elections. it goes on to do things about redistricting, stopping dark money in politics, but he wrote the first 300. they named the other bill for him, is named the voting rights bill for him. the voting rights bill is as you all know lyndon johnson, not past and signed the voting rights bill. he was right there by his side when he signed the bill, what a great, transformative occasion for america, the voting rights bill.

it has to be reauthorized every time, and the supreme court in one of its less edible decisions guided -- gutted part of the voting rights act. we had just passed reauthorization in a bipartisan way. we had around 400 votes in the house, unanimous in the senate, signed by president george w. bush, very bipartisan, and a few years later the supreme court said it was obsolete. it was brand-new, but they said it was obsolete for whatever reasons, so now we were trying to restore l they dismantled it. it takes a lot of -- we had hearings all over the country so that it would be an clad --

unclad constitutionally if the court decided they wanted to mess with it again. one would be ready right away, this was finished after he left us but it needed to have the constitutional process of hearings and the rest of that. so we passed them both in the house again and again, but in the senate they put them together, 50 members of congress plus the vice president passed the bill, but it did not have 60 votes and we could not get 60 votes to make up law of the land, but we are not giving up. we will never give up because that is the essence of our democracy. [applause] president lincoln said public sentiment is everything, with it

you can accomplish almost everything, without it practically nothing, so we want public sentiment to weigh in. do you want the court or the law to interfere with your right to vote? most people do not. in suppressing their votes they are suppressing everyone's as well. shame on the courts for what it did to begin, and we could not get one republican vote in the senate. the bill that george w. bush signed, it came to the 50th anniversary on the march on selma crossing the bridge, both lucy and lyndon johnson were there. president obama spoke and president bush spoke and took

great pride in the fact that he sent this legislation. there is something wrong with this picture. we will not give up. >> so the supreme court decision you are alluding to was shelby county versus holder, it gutted preclearance, so states can do what they want in terms of imposing voting restrictions. there are many lawmakers including this state with senate bill one. what do you say to those lawmakers to have imposed voting restrictions like senate bill one in texas? speaker pelosi: i think most lawmakers and many of us who are not in jobs but are civic. i would say to them under your oath of office. this is what this legislation is

about, just because the court decided to say we were obsolete in our criteria does not mean that we are not owed that respect for the constitution of the united states. let me say this one lyndon johnson story and eric holder. eric holder was attorney general in the obama administration when the decision came down with what it did to preclearance, which was damaging. that is very important. so, eric holder has been the head of something, the national democratic redistricting committee, which is to try to get redistricting to be apolitical, and to do it by

commission, to do it to me certain standards of the voting rights act that we hope to have, and it is the constitution of the united states, honoring those things. one day i said to his wife, sharon, i said i want to think you for all of the work that attorney general eric holder is doing for voting rights in our country. he helped us pass those two bills, helped us craft them in a way that was ironclad and the rest, he has been such a hero to us. and she said to me you do not have to think me, that is our life. if you go into the library and you see president johnson signing the voting rights act with lucy standing behind her

father when he signs the bill and gives the first 10 across the aisle, beautifully executed, and the picture is a young woman dressed with a hat and gloves and purse probably about 20 years old who was eric holder's wife's sister and one of the first students to define george wallace to go to the university of alabama. she said this is who we are. this will always be our fight. this is about our country, it involves so much about liberty and justice for all. we saw that film, i got the liberty and justice for all but never saw that film until tonight. liberty and justice for all. i have this pin that i wear, i

got this from john lewis. when i went to see him right before he passed, i brought him this. on it it says one country, one destiny. that was what was embroidered into lincoln's coat the night -- probably weren't often. john had always been about when he was doing these bills it was not about partisanship or democrats versus republicans, it was about one country, one destiny, liberty and justice for all. we just have to take who we are, our national debate back to a place, one country, one destiny. [applause]

>> you mentioned john lewis, and you clearly were so close. what was your most indelible memory of john lewis? speaker pelosi: so many. as i was saying earlier, the 50th anniversary after somewhat, we went to -- selma, we went to montgomery and we were going to hear john lewis speak from the steps of the capital of alabama, in preparation he was saying in the day, back then. two people, he and one of the person, could not be on the steps of the capitol, and out the whole world was watching as

john lewis spoke from the steps of the capitol. it was emotional for all of us. another time, in the same value system but different from voting rights, we were good friends, but i am the speaker and he went to because good trouble, so he did not tell me because maybe i would say that is not allowed. so he planned a sitting on the floor of the house to end gun violence in our country. 24 hours. 24 hours sitting on the floor of the house. people gathered, it drew a crowd and this without of the -- well,

it was quite remarkable, but he again did not want -- i was not speaker yet, i was leader, but the speaker turned out the lights and made sure nobody could see what we were doing. she did not want me to say that is against the rules. just in case, you really put me on the spot. but it was remarkable, justice presence to speak out against the fact that we could not pass a bill for background checks. everything he did was to the nth degree, and he knew the power of public opinion as lincoln had guided us. there are so many stories about

john lewis, so there is not a day that goes by, an issue that comes up whether we are talking about lgbtq, a woman's right to choose, access to quality affordable health care, gun violence, peace on earth, any subject, protecting the environment, it was always a justice issue for him, about equity and justice and making sure people fight and are protected. even when we are talking about infrastructure, and that is something joe biden is done to make sure it is about justice and environmental justice and economic justice and everything that we did, so it would be really hard to find one moment, but any of us whoever locked arms with him across the selma bridge knew we were in the presence of enormous greatness

and privileged to serve with him. >> just as the texas legislature has passed a very restrictive voting bill, they have also passed a law that restricts abortions. roe v. wade has been upheld in the supreme court despite its constitutional ambiguity. what is the future of roe v. wade and what is more restrictive abortion into the future of our country? speaker pelosi: let me just say we passed in the house the codification of roe v. wade. we have not vested in the senate -- past it -- passed it in the senate. it will be an important

protection against the court. the court did not even make sense. in any event, the -- public sentiment, how many times have i said that? i am a devout catholic, mother of five children. i would like to think when we have unified children at six years and one week, but in the meantime, that was right for me. it is not fair for me to say what is right for anybody else, nor is it right for you, nor is it right to the supreme court. this has been a precedent of the court that should be upheld. [applause] so i think that -- and by the

way, i respect people's opinions about how they see the wall in their own personal lives, but i do not see how they decide that they come but these are people who do not leave in government protecting the environment, government protecting people's rights and voting rights, but they will put big-time government in your bedroom, whether it is a woman's right to choose, lgbtq, all of the sudden, there they are. the american people are just -- again, it is not about what his work religious belief. it is what is the right of people to make their own decision about deciding the time they are going to have a family. this really gets me burned up,

in case you did not notice. i am very catholic about practicing, all of that. i am not going because i do not want to make their day. [laughter] but this is fundamental to respect, respect for women and their judgments about their lives, but not just women, families. families, and why would it be that someone in washington d.c. should be deciding the size and time of your family and the rest? we have to make this fight. this is fundamental. but, ok, elections have consequences, and i would wish the election would not be about

a woman's right to choose, because that should not be a public matter, but there are those who will be making decisions about your personal life, so you probably want to make decisions about who you vote for in the elections when it comes to the very sad situation. [applause] >> we have several questions from students that i will get to in a moment. when you were talking to students earlier today, you said with challenge comes opportunity. we face enormous challenges in the world today. i wonder if the world you were looking at today, stronger and healthier than that when you took your position in congress in 1987 at the end of the reagan

administration? speaker pelosi: it has to be. we always have to be on a path of hope, opportunity, inclusion, so i do think we are stronger now than then, but there is a realization that we can do much better, and we do much better the more inclusive we are. you have to remember when i went to congress then we were under a severe assault of hiv-aids and horrible situation, not only were we having to face the science of it, we had to face the stigma that some people attached to it. what was interesting to me when i went to congress is i went there to fight against hiv and aids and people were saying, you do not want to people -- want people to know that about you.

when i was sworn in it was a special election. i never intended to run for office. people said to me, when you get sworn in, nobody wants to hear from a new member of congress, nobody. so do not say anything. is that the way it is? because it is not the whole congress being sworn in, it is just you. so i get sworn in by the very distinguished speaker of the house, jim right of texas -- wright of texas, and he says with the gentlelady from california wish you address the house? so i looked at all of these members who said to me, be sure. so i got up and said my father

was here, who was a member of congress okey had been a member of congress, so he could be on the house. and i think my parents, my constituents, and i said briefer than i am saying it now, when i come to congress i will say that i've come to fight against hiv and aids. so i go sit down, and i look at these people thinking that was really short, right? what is a matter with you? what did you say you came here to fight hiv and aids? and i said because i did. i realized that they had that discrimination that it was out

there, 1987, discrimination. we are trying to find to prevention, cure, care, research for a cure and to do so in a community-based way. what they were saying is why would you want the first thing anybody knows about you in this congress to be hiv and aids? isn't that sad? the president of the united states at that time had not even mentioned the word aids, so none of us. you ask about then and now. now, joe biden is a great resident. what i have said to him sometimes, i am glad you did not win before because we really needed you to win now. [applause]

he is perfect for now. we needed him now, because as i said before, he shows progress, shows hope, shows empathy for the needs of people have, but in everything he does he is so inclusive by making sure everything is about justice, about whether we are talking about lowering the cost of health care, lowering the cost of childcare, universal pre-k, all of the things that are transformative as we try to help people to not only survive but succeed, but it takes some transformative actions that inject inclusion justice into the system to do that, and that is what he is about. so i am optimistic because we have a great president who cares

, and we just -- i would say i am optimistic, except we have ukraine. and it is all-consuming to see catherine the great -- maybe she was a better person than he is, because he is an evil person, bombing children, killing children, maternity hospitals and stuff like that. it is a values discussion and the rest, and we have to make sure that we have the resources and the will, and we do have the will and we do have the ukraine.

having said that, in our country, we have to make the fight. we are having fights, no question -- voting rights, nullification of elections and things like that. but we can't be fear mongers and just talk about that. my motto is, we don't agonize, we organize. and when we organize, we do so in a way that hopefully rings people together, whatever the results of the election, that people are brought together. and what gives me hope -- we are going to hear from some of them -- our young people. young people care about the planet, they care about respecting everybody in our society, whatever their nationality, their gender, young people give me so much hope and

that is why visiting this library is so exciting. because it tells the story about the past with and i to the future and educates these young people to be themselves and see themselves as they go forward. >> let's bring on hope, starting with jeffrey carlisle from happy valley, oregon. >> good evening, madam speaker. my name is jeffrey carlisle, i am in eighth grade teacher here in austin. you have been a long champion of lgbtq rights. i have transgender students in my class now who have been under attack from the government, both the legislature and the governor. i want to know what i can tell them tomorrow, what the house of representatives can do to protect their rights here in texas? [applause]

speaker pelosi: thank you for your question, jeffrey. and thank you for being an educator, nothing more important than preparing our children for the future. with stiff competition, mind you, this is one of the most heinous proposals i have heard. really? families with their children, and the government wants to intervene and to say, we don't like the way you are meeting the needs of your children? many of us have in our families -- and take pride in the fact -- trans members. god bless you. you are one of god's children. we need to do all we can, though, to support those

families. i see in san francisco, on the streets, young people who are trans and whose families have just turned their backs on them. it is so shameful and so sad. i have seen across the country, families embrace their child, and what is the right of the governor of the state or the legislature of the state to intervene in that? you just have to say, you are loved, we will protect you, and it is a blessing that you have made your own judgment about yourself, and we respect that. it is so sad, though, that they would intervene with a family and characterize how families care for their children. thank you.

[applause] >> our next student is samuel hirschman, from sharon, massachusetts. >> madame speaker, thank you for being here with us. in your career, you have gone from speaker to house minority leader and back to speaker of the house. can you tell us about that paradigm shift you had to take as a leader in governing from the majority and minority party? speaker pelosi: well, there is nothing like the majority. [laughter] [applause] however, different leverage. you know, who has leverage? if you are a speaker, you have a lot of leverage. if you and the minority but have the president in the white house, you have a lot of

leverage. if you are in the minority and don't have the white house, that is more problematic. again, you are always trying to find the path. in the house, it is different because majority or not, in the senate, you need 60 votes, one senator can hold up the works, that is a different world, which i won't go into one way or another. but in terms of the house, when i first was in congress, we had common goals. we never thought an election was the beginning or the end of our democracy. not so much, now, but that number was the case. and when you go there just as a member, and as part of a majority or a minority, you go with confidence in what you believe in, humanity and

respecting other people's opinions, and knowledge that whether you are in the majority or the minority, you're going to have to come up with a compromise so that you can have sustainability, that it will prevail and in the next election, it isn't undone. so, you have to have good faith and see, again, everything as an opportunity. but in the house of representatives, i highly recommend being in the majority. [laughter] [applause] >> kiki fernandez from grand prairie, texas. >> first, happy early birthday. i know it is coming in a couple of days. speaker pelosi: today is my granddaughter's birthday, ella is 13. she has become a teenager. we are not standing in the way of any celebration. >> happy birthday to her.

my question is about leadership, because you have spent so much of your time in a position of leadership. what are lessons in leadership you carried with you throughout your time in office? >> would you repeat the question? >> what are lessons in leadership you carried with you throughout your time in office? speaker pelosi: when i see all these young people and i'm gratified by their interest in public service, but hope it might carry them to participation itself in running for office. i never intended to, but then come i was ready when the opportunity presented itself. but here is the thing about service in any way. i am very honored to be speaker of the house, majority leader, minority leader, but nothing is

a bigger honor than to go on the floor of the house as a representative of your district. they have chosen you among all those other people to speak for them. it is quite a big honor. i always say to people about this, know your why. what is your vision? why would you be interested in this? and i say this to young women because nothing is more wholesome and having your participation of women in government and politics. and that is in everything, but i am talking about government and politics. and i say that in terms of increased participation of people of color, minorities, because we need that diversity. that is why i am so excited about the supreme work. but know your vision. i say this about lyndon johnson

and about joe biden and i say it about any one of you -- know your why. what drew you to it? when i hear lyndon johnson, in his speeches, talk about those four hispanic children that he taught in grade school and how that motivated him, i carry that memory with me. he had other things that he wanted, other than education, that they would be succeeding in. no your why, know what it is you are talking about. in other words, if your interest is in saving the planet or educating the public or having a fair economy, whatever it is, no something -- know something. when you are a leader, you have to know what you are talking about so that people respect your judgment but it applies

when you are just starting out, people respect your judgment, your strategic thinking, how are you going to get your idea across? what is your plan, vision? knowledge, and division with a plan is a success. --knowledge and vision with a plan is a success. show your vision, your knowledge and your strategy to get it done, and you will attract support. you will be considered a leader. and the authenticity of it all, that you truly believe in what your vision is and you don't have to know everything about it

, nobody does, but you know enough about it to take it to the next step. all of that is up here, vision, knowledge, plan. authenticity, down here, that emotional connection you make with people about the sincerity of it all. you will encompass what it -- you will accomplish whatever you set out to do. and that is what a leader will do, joe biden and so many of my colleagues in congress. one other ingredient that is fairly important, and i except every complement i ever received that i get on behalf of my house democratic colleagues, for all that i just said, but also for their courage. you can have all the commitment in the world, all the conviction

about what you believe in, but you have to have the courage. you have to have the courage to get the job done. and it is pretty exciting, an opportunity, and i hope that all of you know your power in all of this, the difference that you will make. elijah cummings, a wonderful colleague who people used to mistake for john lewis, he said children are messengers to a future we will never see. and we want to make sure we prepare our children for the future, but we also want to make sure we prepare a future for them. but none of it can be done without the involvement of young people. it is their future. it is your future. so, how do we embrace what you set?

i was telling some of the students earlier that i was just at a funeral, this beautiful man who was helping poor people around the world have justice in their health care, another person said our children are our harvested we are there harvest. -- we are their harvest. we have to sow the seeds for children to have opportunity and then, we learn from them about how their future should be. that is why i have hope, because so many young people are dissatisfied, relentless, and that is a good thing to take responsibility for the future. [applause] >> our last question comes from your home state. the floor goes to zoe from

stockbridge, california. no, i am sorry, stockbridge georgia. >> i am a first-your student in public affairs here at the lbj school. you have been a trailblazer in congress and a model to me and so many other people. i have to ask, who are your role models? and how have they inspired you? speaker pelosi: my mother was my main role model because in our family, we were raised in a very catholic family. devoutly catholic, proud of our italian-american heritage, fiercely patriotic, staunchly democratic. [laughter]

but the first three, we had a lot in common with many people. and then sometimes, there would be division there. and my mother had seven children . my father was elected. i think the first time he could vote, he voted for himself for state legislature. and then, city council, which was bigger than congress, and then mayor of baltimore. when i wasn't born, he was in congress, but when i was in first grade, we came here to baltimore -- he became mayor of baltimore and when i was in my first year in college, he was still mayor of baltimore. but she really cared about people. i want to say, our catholic faith, we believed in the separation of church and faith, that church and state, but our

religious faith was what motivated us to care about people. public service was a noble calling. we had a responsibility to each other, and especially people in need. so, she was my mother and also a role model. but in congress, one of my role models was lindsay boggs. lindy consulted with lady bird when she was going to be running for office, as you would say things to me like, darling, come here. you know, hale -- that was her husband who died in a plane crash -- hale used to say, don't

fight every fight as if it was her last fight. don't fight it like it was your last fight. she had things like that. she was on the opposite side of the twist issue, but she was a staunch democrat, from louisiana. she was like my family, i came from a pro-life family. they wish i would temper my remarks sometimes, but i think they gave up on that a long time ago. so, she would always be saying gentle, gentle, and some of the discussions we would have. let me tell you this story because it isn't an answer you to your question, but it is a response. [laughter] when i was elected to the

leadership of the congress, bend lawrence has her this to time, forgive me, anyway, when i was first elected to leadership, what happens is, you go to the white house for your first meeting with the president of the united states. and it is a small meeting, fabey eight people around the table. there was george w. bush, who was so gracious, anyway, i go to the meeting with president bush, and house and senate, democrat and republican, and maybe a few more people. but it is just leadership in the president. i go to the meeting, i wasn't too worried about the meeting or how it was going to be, because i had been to the white house for many meetings.

i am one of the appropriators, on the intelligence committee, so i didn't give it a thought. i just thought, i am going to the white house for a meeting. i go into the white house and i go into this room and the minute the door closes behind me, i realize that i am in a meeting i had never been to in the white house before, nor had any woman been to before. it felt like a cabinet meeting, where there are some women, and that is a really good thing. but here, you are going in on your own right at as a representative of the democrats at the congress of the united date. -- united states. there was supposed to be some applause there, but we will get past that. [laughter] and i sit down and president bush -- i love the bushes -- he

could not have been more gracious welcoming the first woman to ever be at one of these meetings. and as he is giving me some opening words, a welcome, i am feeling squeezed in in my chair. i couldn't understand. i was really squeezed in in my chair. i know what he is saying and i am trying to listen, but i am very distracted. and then i realized i had susan b. anthony, lucretia stanton, alice b paul, they were all sitting on that chair. and i could hear them say, at last we have a seat at the table. [laughter] [applause] and then, they were gone.

and all i could think is, we want more. we want more. but i realized, and of course i had known, but fully realized all the shoulders that i was standing on, the women who made something like that possible, that a woman could be at the table, and then how many women were standing on my shoulders as well and what a that was. there are many women i admire and learn from, but what i want you to know is that while you may admire, be yourself, your authentic you. that is the best advice i got before i ever ran for office. i never intended to run. be yourself. one of my role models was always and richards -- ann richards.

[applause] some of her advice including getting my hair done. [laughter] [indiscernible] i always tell her daughter cecile, her mom was always very sick synced in her guidance and advice. but the point is, while i had many people i respected and admired, it is nice, but it is you, the authentic you. nobody like you. and i say that to everybody, young men and women who want to run, just remember that the authenticity that is you is like nothing else. and that is the value that you

bring to the table. so, while you have role models you respect and admire, never want to be just like somebody, always just be true to you. [applause] >> you talked about the importance of finding your why. it is so clear in hearing you tonight and looking at your career the so much of your why is fighting for liberty and justice for altered so, we thank you not only for being here tonight but for making it a freer and just nation. speaker pelosi: does everybody know that lucy baines johnson is here? [applause] and larry temple, chief of the lbj foundation. and lieutenant general barnes.

and mark lawrence, director of the lbj library. and david ferrero, the archivist of the united date -- archivist of the united states. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> this pe -- the speaker mentioned david who is the outgoing archivist of the ni states, who served routine honorable years in the position. we are honored to have him here tonight. [applause] madam speaker, thank you for honoring us with your presence. speaker pelosi: i am honored to be here. i have to tell you one less story. [laughter] my father served with lbj in congress, the house. my father served in the kennedy and johnson administrations. my brother, he was the mayor of

baltimore, too, a couple times after my father, but when he was president of the city council in baltimore, it was the year that lbj was running for reelection, the 1964 election. and my brother was invited with the governor of the state, know what thomas, -- noah thomas, to go to see the president to talk about the election in maryland. as a matter of history, george wallace was running at that time ed was drawing a large number of votes. so my brother, who was a kid, he was in his early 30's, that is a kid. he goes in with the governor who

is in his 70's, they go into the oval office and my brother said it was not like the oval office now, there was all kinds of things going on, people in this corner were doing this, people in that quarter were doing that, this is my contribution to the lbj library. [laughter] so, the governor says, mr. president, everything is great, you are going to win big in maryland, it is not going to be any problem that we just have come here to tell you that. my brother says, with all respect to the governor, i don't think we can take that for granted. george wallace is amassing some support in the community. i think it is going to be harder than you think, and we have to do all these other things in order to --

lbj, the president, says to my brother, thomas, we don't want any crybabies around here. [laughter] just tell me what you think we should do. he gave him a last, he did them all, and he won maryland. [applause] he did them all. >> thank you, speaker nancy pelosi. thank you, very much. [applause] [indiscernible conversations]

we see government expanding power in several ways. announcer: washington journal continues. host: welcome back to washington journal. time for cram for the exam, our annual program we