The white pantsuit has become, against all odds, one of the most powerful emblems in Washington, D.C.

I know, I know. You’re thinking: not again! Not another story about a white pantsuit! But there’s no escaping it. That is the point.

It has become a statement in itself, layered in meaning and nuance; loaded with history — recent and long-ago; an unspoken nod to justice in the face of power. And it is increasingly wheeled out, remorselessly even, by those who wear it in times of high drama and national attention.

In fact, it’s barely a suit anymore. It’s a symbol.

So there was Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, on Thursday morning, standing in the ceremonial speaker’s hallway framed against a backdrop of American flags, as she announced that the House of Representatives would begin drafting impeachment articles against President Trump. She was grim of face, resolved of mien, looking down the long corridor of history, her hands clasped before her — and wearing a white pantsuit.

It was the same sort of white pantsuit that she wore in February during the State of the Union address, when the Democratic women of the 116th Congress had resolved to wear white in honor of the suffragists, in celebration of their record numbers and in protest of Mr. Trump’s policies. (At that time she also wore a white shell underneath; this time, she chose a black version, with black pearls around her neck, perhaps in a nod to the somberness of the occasion.)