Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has announced that she will not seek re-election and will retire from Congress at the end of her term in early 2027.
Pelosi, who has served in Congress since 1987, paid tribute to her hometown of San Francisco in a video message Thursday as she announced her decision.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“I want you, the people of San Francisco, to be the first to know that I am not seeking re-election to Congress,” Pelosi, 85, said in a statement.
“I am grateful and look forward to my final year as a proud representative of your company.”
Pelosi, considered one of the most powerful figures in the modern Democratic Party, served as Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023.
At the end of her second term, she stepped down from Democratic House leadership, clearing the way for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to become minority leader and speaker candidate if Democrats regained control of the chamber.
She holds the honorary title of Honorary Speaker.
As a legislative leader, Pelosi promoted center-left policies. One of her most notable accomplishments was helping the House pass former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2010.
During the first Trump presidency, Pelosi emerged as a leading figure in the opposition party. When Democrats took control of the House in 2019, she suppressed his legislative agenda.
The ups and downs of Pelosi’s political career
During President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address, Pelosi tore up her copy of the speech while standing behind him at the podium.
Pelosi has had to manage the challenge of keeping her caucus united as ideological divides within the Democratic Party begin to widen with the rise of vocal progressives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
When Pelosi was elected speaker in 2019 and 2021, some conservative Democrats refused to support her.
Still, from 2021 to 2023, Pelosi was able to help Democrats pass major legislation to advance then-President Joe Biden’s policies, including a massive COVID-19 relief package and $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending.
Even after replacing Jeffries as Democratic House speaker, Pelosi appeared to retain some influence within the party.
Following Biden’s dismal debate performance against Trump last year, it was widely reported that Pelosi led the effort to persuade the then-president to halt his campaign.
In 2022, an assailant broke into Pelosi’s San Francisco home and assaulted her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer, fracturing his skull. The former House speaker was not at home during the attack.
Pelosi is a prolific stock trader, raising concerns that she could use information not publicly available to line her own pockets.
Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill called the Prevention of Elected Leaders’ Owning of Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act that would ban members of Congress from trading stocks.
In July, Pelosi supported a possible ban. “While I appreciate the creativity of my Republican colleagues in drafting Congressional abbreviations, I welcome serious efforts to raise ethical standards for public servants,” he said in a statement.
Democratic lawmakers praise Pelosi
Pelosi’s critics on the left have accused her of failing to cater to the party’s centrist wing and push forward with progressive policies, including universal health care. But for many on the right, the former speaker is the embodiment of liberal tax-and-spend policies.
On foreign policy, Pelosi has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and China hawks. In 2022, she visited Taiwan, sparking a crisis between China and the United States.
Pelosi opposed the Iraq war in 2003, but has remained a staunch supporter of Israel.
“If this Capitol falls, what will remain is our commitment to support — I wouldn’t call it support, but cooperation with Israel. That’s our foundation,” Pelosi said in 2018.
Dozens of Democratic senators praised Pelosi on Thursday, hailing her as a historically significant figure.
“Nancy D’Alessandro Pelosi is an iconic, heroic, trailblazing, legendary and transformational leader. She is the greatest Speaker of all time,” Jeffries said in a statement.
“America is a much better country today because Nancy Pelosi dedicated her life to serving our children, our climate, our country, and the American people.”
Right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also praised Pelosi’s leadership. “She had a great career. I served as speaker under her during her first term in the House of Representatives, and I was very impressed with her ability to get things done. I hope she can get things done for our party,” she told CNN.
However, President Trump criticized the former speaker, calling her a “bad woman who did a terrible job.”
“I think she did a great service to the country by retiring. I think she took on a great responsibility for the country,” he told reporters.
