Democrats in the House of Representatives have nominated Nancy Pelosi to be the new speaker – though she still faces a showdown vote in January.
As the party prepares to retake control of the House, Ms Pelosi, 78, won the internal ballot in which she had no opponent.
The Californian said on Wednesday: "I'm proud to be the nominee of the House Democratic caucus once again for speaker of the House."
However, the House veteran will still have to manoeuvre against a small group of Democrats demanding younger leadership - though they failed to produce a rival candidate to challenge her.
Over the next few weeks, Ms Pelosi will have to win over opponents to nail down a victory in early January, when the full House convenes to elect a new speaker.
She won Wednesday’s secret ballot by a vote of 203 to 32. But once the House convenes, Ms Pelosi will need 218 votes to become speaker.
On Wednesday, she claimed she had already made progress as some of the potential renegades announced their support for her.
She insisted “we're in pretty good shape" for January.
Republicans, who next year will be in the minority for the first time since 2010, are expected to vote against any Democratic nominee for speaker.
The Democrats are fresh from their November election victories. Ms Pelosi, who is currently the House minority leader, wants to lead the party's challenge to Donald Trump's political and legislative agendas in 2019.
Ms Pelosi has held the speakership before. She became the first female speaker in US history in 2007, before the Republicans took over the House in 2011.
Democratic member Gerry Connolly scorned those Democrats opposing Ms Pelosi, saying: “Meanwhile, we have a very skilled, tested experienced leader who doesn't need on-the-job training.”
Additional reporting by agencies.
