Nancy Pelosi named House speaker

On the first day of the 116th Congress on Thursday (local time), Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was officially named the new House speaker in a majority vote.

Pelosi's appointment comes at a time when a standoff with regards to the US-Mexico border wall has snowballed into a partial government shutdown.

In the new role, Pelosi, who will regularly face off against US President Donald Trump, will preside over an "emboldened and energised Democratic majority that is poised to launch aggressive oversight of the President and his administration," CNN reported.

Towards the end of last year, Pelosi had secured the nomination to become speaker with a total of 203 votes. However, she fell short of the 218 mark which is necessary to be elected as the Speaker, which she later garnered through negotiations ahead of the final vote in January.

With the nomination, Pelosi has reclaimed a title she previously held when she served as the first and so far only female House speaker from 2007 to 2011.