House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R, back) tears up what appeared to be a copy of the president's speech during U.S. President Donald Trump's (front) State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Pelosi's election as House speaker came as the 117th U.S. Congress was sworn in on Sunday.

In a letter to her colleagues in the morning, Pelosi said the new Congress convenes "during a time of extraordinary difficulty."

"Each of our communities has been drastically affected by the pandemic and economic crisis: 350,000 tragic deaths, over 20 million infections, millions without jobs -- a toll almost beyond comprehension," she said.