Nancy Pelosi won’t seek reelection to Congress

Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who made history as the first female speaker of the House of Representatives, said Thursday she will not seek reelection to Congress next year.

Pelosi, 85, has served in the House for nearly four decades.

“There has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco,'” Pelosi said in a video posted on social media.

“I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress,” she said. “That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know: I will not be seeking reelection to Congress.”

“With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi became the most powerful woman in congressional history in 2002, when she was elected House minority leader by her fellow Democrats.

When the party took majority control of the chamber in 2007, Pelosi became the first — and so far only — woman to wield the speaker’s gavel.

She held the title until Democrats lost their House majority in 2011. When the party won the chamber back in 2019, Pelosi served as House speaker for a second time.

The House under her leadership passed seismic legislation that created sweeping change across the country.

Perhaps most notably, she was instrumental to the 2009 passage of the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama‘s signature legislative achievement. The health care law, which has survived numerous attempts by Republicans to repeal it, is now at the center of an ongoing government shutdown.

During her second stint as speaker, Pelosi clashed openly with President Donald Trump — inside and outside the White House.

In a heated clash at a White House meeting in 2019 on the administration’s withdrawal of troops from Syria, Pelosi stood up and raised a finger to Trump. The then-president released a photo of the moment, claiming Pelosi had an “unhinged meltdown” — but Pelosi embraced the image, displaying it atop her Twitter profile.

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