Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she would not seek another term in Congress in 2026. The first and only female speaker of the House, Pelosi, 85, has been a fixture within the halls of Capitol Hill since 1987. Representing San Francisco and its many tech hubs and start-ups for decades, Pelosi has overseen the dramatic makeover of the city over the last 40 years.
‘With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,’ she said in a social media post. ‘As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history. We have made progress.’ Pelosi was elected as the House’s first-ever female speaker from 2007 – 2011, ruling Congress for much of President Barack Obama ‘s first term.
She was awarded the gavel again in 2019, under President Donald Trump ‘s first term, a post she held until 2023. She will go down as one of the longest tenured leaders in the US House of Representatives after leading the House Democrats for 20 years. She is by far the most powerful female in congressional history. And Republicans are ruminating on the announcement that their longtime nemesis has finally decided to give up power.
‘The retirement of Nancy Pelosi is a great thing for America,’ Trump told Fox News. ‘She was Evil, Corrupt, and only focused on bad things for our country. She was rapidly losing control of her party, and it was never coming back.’ ‘I’m very honored she impeached me twice and failed miserably twice. Nancy Pelosi is a highly overrated politician.’ The president and Pelosi feuded extensively over the years. Trump has called Pelosi an assortment of degrading nicknames and alleged she’s corrupt.
Pelosi, meanwhile, led two impeachment attempts against the 79-year-old president. She also famously tore his State of the Union speech in half in front of millions of Americans watching at home in a defiant act of opposition during Trump’s first term. Their relationship hit new lows after the January 6 riots, during which Pelosi was in the Capitol before being evacuated to a nearby military base.
During the riot, the pro-Trump protestors broke into the Democrat’s office and rummaged through her belongings, videos of the incident show. The president and Pelosi later blamed each other for not authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to protect the Capitol complex in a timely manner.
The former speaker also played a central role in the Democratic Party’s soul-searching amid President Joe Biden’s shaky presidential campaign. She reportedly insisted that Biden step aside, and during TV hits urged the aging president to reconsider. Jill Biden, who has had a 50-year friendship with Pelosi, later called the ex-speaker’s conduct before the election ‘disappointing.’
