After surgery Pelosi returns to the House for the first time, giving up her signature high heels

Wearing flats instead of her beloved stilettos, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her first appearance in the US House chamber since having a hip replacement surgery earlier this month on January 3.

After weeks of recovery following the operation, Pelosi was able to attend a House floor vote on who will be the new speaker. Pelosi voted for Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader.

Pelosi was seen at her seat in the House for the speaker election on January 3, 2025 wearing flats. Pelosi had worn stilettos with four-inch heels almost her entire life. And a message from Pelosi's daughter claimed that the reason her mother was not in her famous heels was due to the advice of her doctors, who recommend she lean on the front part of her foot until she makes a full recovery and said nothing prevented her mother from wearing the heels again.

Former US House Speaker Pelosi wears flats in her first appearance in the House Chamber, January 3, 2025 in Washington, DC.. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The 83-year-old House Democrat underwent hip joint replacement surgery on her right leg after hurting her ankle and hand Dec. 13 during an official congressional visit with a large contingent from Eastern and Western Europe. She was transported to a hospital in Luxembourg, where the House GOP minority and Pelosi's husband said a doctor determined that Pelosi needed surgery to correct her hip as soon as they returned to the US, which they did on Dec. 15.

Former US Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, who failed to win enough support from fellow House Republicans to assume the speaker's role in January 2023, resigned from the House during the vote to install House Republicans' new choice for speaker.

The US House reconvened for the first time on Wednesday and, true to its dramatic history, it immediately delivered another political spectacle.

The biggest drama of the day was that the House's Republican-led caucus failed at re-electing GOP Representative Mike Johnson, the only speaker candidate to garner enough support from his party's caucus members in November. However, in an embarrassing debacle for Republicans, Johnson failed to receive the support from the caucus for a second year in a row.

House Republican Representative and Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana delivers the keynote address at the GOP199 Conference, in Washington, DC on January 02, 2025. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Johnson tried to claim victory right away with 216 votes. In total there are 435 votes, with Republicans currently holding 219 and Democrats the 216 with one Republican seat currently vacant.

However, Johnson, who has Trump's blessing was not in the cards after Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky declared he would not support Johnson and that he would instead vote for Republican Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, another potential speaker candidate for 2025. Three other House Republicans, Representatives Ralph Norman from North Carolina and Keith Self from Texas, both from the Freedom Caucus, which is the ultra-right faction in the party, and Representative Andy Biggs from Arizona, also did not support Johnson.

After 36 ballots on January 4, a new winner emerged. After a dramatic day of floor debate between House Republicans on January 3rd, the US House of Representatives elected Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) on January 4, 2025.

Former US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy casts his vote after he was defeated during a vote to elect the next speaker on January 3, 2025. Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives is the elected presiding officer of the chamber and the highest-ranking member within the chamber. The speaker presides over House sessions, delegates House discussions, and refers legislation to committees for further deliberation. The speaker also decides where and when committee meetings will take place.

In addition, the speaker serves as de facto head of the House majority party, helps set the Republican (or Democrat) Conference, appoints majority party members and conference chairs to House committees, leads the chamber's majority party strategy, and serves as a spokesperson for the House majority party on the House floor. The speaker and the majority party leader are almost often synonymous because the speaker is always a member of the chamber's majority party, although these roles do technically remain separate.

In the event there is a tie vote in the house, the speaker will typically exercise their "casting vote" to break the tie. It is a position of great power within the House of Representatives.

Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08) delivers remarks during a speech to Democratic lawmakers at a leadership luncheon in the Speaker's Lobby on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 3, 2025. Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, was voted in as the speaker of the House on January 4, 2023, after 15 hours of voting on January 3 and 4. He resigned his House seat on January 4, 2025, and was subsequently succeeded by House Democratic leader, Representative of Hakeem Jeffries.