Nancy Pelosi will not seek leadership role but plans to stay in Congress

It is an unusual choice for a party leader to stay on after withdrawing from congressional leadership but one befitting of Ms Pelosi, who has long defied convention in pursuing power in Washington.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has said she will not seek a leadership position in the new US Congress, a pivotal realignment making way for a new generation of leaders after Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections.

Ms Pelosi announced in a spirited speech on the House floor that she will step aside after leading Democrats for nearly 20 years and in the aftermath of the brutal attack on her husband Paul last month in their San Francisco home.