House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Speaker-designate, speaks to the media outside the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump on border security, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi knew this moment would come, even if others had their doubts — or actively worked to stop her.

Pelosi is poised to be elected Thursday (Friday in Manila) as House speaker, the only woman who has held the office and now one of few elected officials who will be returning to it. The last time a speaker regained the gavel was more than a half-century ago.

The California Democrat has spent her political career being underestimated, only to prove the naysayers wrong. In this case, it was by winning back the Democratic majority and amassing the votes for the speaker’s job.

“None of us is indispensable,” Pelosi told The Associated Press on the campaign trail last fall, “but I do know that I’m very good at what I do.”

Pelosi remains a highly polarizing figure, vilified by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal and caricature of big government. But she is also a mother of five and grandmother of nine who has shattered glass ceilings to become one of the most powerful politicians of the 21st century.

With President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans still controlling the Senate, Pelosi’s return to the speaker’s office to lead a Democratic majority with its biggest freshmen class since Watergate shakes up the dynamic in Washington even beyond the new era of divided government.

She is one of the few congressional leaders who seem to understand Trump, both being children from famous families now primed for deal-making. Trump appreciates strong characters and, in perhaps a sign of respect, she is one of the few congressional leaders in Washington he has not given a nickname.