Nancy Pelosi earns a top spot on annual World's Most Powerful Women list

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Months after launching the impeachment investigation into President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has earned the No. 3 spot on Forbes' annual World's Most Powerful Women list.

While this isn't the California's lawmaker's first time on the list, (she was number 38 in 2015), this is the highest rank she's ever held -- and the first time she's reappeared on the list since her debut in 2015. Pelosi is also the highest-ranking American woman on the list.

Pelosi joins the likes of powerhouse women including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Forbes top-ranked woman for the ninth year in a row, 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg, American philanthropist Melinda Gates, CEO of Fidelity Investments Abigail Johnson and musician and activist Taylor Swift among others.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Jr. slams Time for choosing Greta Thunberg as Person of the Year

When determining her positioning on the list, Forbes took into consideration Pelosi's history-making role in U.S. government as the first woman to hold the speakership in American history. Additionally, Pelosi's unwillingness to back down to President Trump and other political figures has earned her national praise and recognition.

Take a look at Forbes' top 20 World's Most Powerful Women in the slideshow below: