Washington, DC (EFE).- Former United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most influential figures in the Democratic Party, announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection and will leave Congress at the end of her term in Jan. 2027, marking the close of a political career spanning almost 40 years.
“I will not be running for reelection to Congress,” Pelosi, 85, said in an emotional video message posted on social media. “With gratitude, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.”
Pelosi has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987 and was the first, and so far only, woman to serve as Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Her announcement comes after weeks of speculation over whether she would run in the 2026 midterm elections.
It also follows major Democratic victories this week, including gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, the New York mayoral contest, and the approval of a redistricting measure in California seen as beneficial to Democrats.
“I always tell my colleagues in the House that no matter what title they have given me, Speaker, Leader, Whip, 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,’” she said in her message.
Pelosi first became Speaker in 2007 and returned to the position in 2019 during United States President Donald Trump’s first term, becoming a central figure in political clashes between the Democratic-controlled House and the Trump administration.
Pelosi played a key role in the impeachment proceedings against Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. She has repeatedly argued that Trump bears responsibility for the violence carried out by his supporters that day.
Her tense public exchanges with Trump, including the widely circulated image of her pointing at him during a White House meeting and the moment she tore up his State of the Union speech, became defining snapshots of American political polarization.
Although Pelosi stepped down as Democratic leader in the House in 2022, her influence has remained strong inside the party, where she is still regarded as one of its most experienced strategists and most powerful negotiators. EFE
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