Nancy Pelosi began her second speakership in one of the politically strongest positions in recent history. After two years of Democrats breathlessly attempting to bait President Trump into a glaring public flameout, Pelosi declared an utter and humiliating victory over Trump without so much as blinking. She called Trump’s catastrophic government shutdown bluff, cajoling him into costing the American economy $11 billion in exchange for barely $1 billion for his “wall,” a mere fraction of what he demanded when he initiated the longest government shutdown in American history.

Trump’s approval ratings plummeted, but more importantly for Pelosi, the spotlight kept razor focus on the most embarrassing fold of his presidency. Pelosi seemed like the ice queen riding back into the House to save the Democrats from themselves.