Nancy Pelosi was the significant party's first female Congressional leader

Pelosi established a reputation for being a cunning politician and progressively advanced within the party, eventually taking over as minority whip in 2002. She became the first woman to lead a party in Congress when she gained office in 2003 after being chosen minority leader later that same year. She held the distinction of being the member of Congress who gave the most money to other congressional campaigns in the 2000 and 2002 election cycles.

Pelosi started advocating for unification among the many groups within her party by engaging conservatives and moderates, using what she referred to as her "mother of five" voice. Pelosi persisted in consistently supporting leftist causes including abortion rights and gun control, opposed welfare reform, and abstained from voting in favor of the Iraq War. She once called President George W. Bush an "incompetent leader," thus her criticism of him may be caustic. Her detractors countered that she was out of touch with the majority of the country due to her "left coast," left-wing beliefs.