The two biggest challenges facing Nancy Pelosi’s successor

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime Democratic leader known for standing up to former President Donald Trump and ushering her party through major policy wins like the Affordable Care Act, is stepping down from her role as the head of the House Democrats.

Pelosi announced her decision Thursday after Republicans officially retook control of the House earlier this week. It also comes after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was brutally attacked with a hammer earlier this year by an assailant allegedly looking for the speaker herself.

“With great confidence in our caucus,...