Nancy Pelosi Announces Retirement After Nearly 40 Years in Congress
Nancy Pelosi, the first and only woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced that this congressional term will be her last. At 85 years old, Pelosi has served in the House for 38 years and held the Speaker position twice, from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.
“It seems prophetic now that the slogan of my very first campaign in 1987 was ‘a voice that will be heard,’” Pelosi said in a video addressing her San Francisco constituents. “It was you who made those words come true. It was the faith that you had placed in me, and the latitude that you had given me, that enabled me to shatter the marble ceiling and be the first woman speaker of the House — whose voice would certainly be heard.”
Pelosi formally stepped down from party leadership in 2022 but continued to mentor younger House Democrats and remained a powerful figure in Democratic politics.
Upcoming Race for Pelosi’s Congressional Seat
Her retirement opens the field for the San Francisco-area House district, which is safely Democratic. Candidates who launched campaigns ahead of her announcement include:
- Saikat Chakrabarti, former tech founder and ex-chief of staff to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
- Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener
The race is expected to be highly competitive given the vacant seat’s significance.