Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she will not seek reelection, capping an historic career at 20 terms.
"I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress," the California Democrat, 85, said in a video dedicated to her San Francisco constituents. "With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative."
Pelosi's departure will mark the end of an era in Congress. In 2007, she became the first woman elected to serve as speaker of the House.
"For our daughters and our granddaughters: today we have broken the marble ceiling," she said at the time.
As speaker and House Democrats' leader, Pelosi was known for her shrewd political judgment and incisive skills as a legislative strategist.
She was also a consistent political target for Republicans, who cast her — a San Francisco multi-millionaire — as the ultimate coastal elitist. Pelosi, who raised five children before coming to Congress, rejected the characterization.
"From kitchen to Congress"
Pelosi was first elected in a special election in 1987. She famously claimed she went "from the kitchen to the Congress" after raising her children and staying active in state politics.
Fond of saying "Congress has the power of the purse," she began her time on Capitol Hill as an appropriator, a role she drew from throughout her career. She quickly rose through Democratic leadership and became the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber when she was elected as the House Democratic Minority leader in 2002.
She led Democrats to retake the House majority in 2006 and after her history-making speakership election in 2007, Pelosi held the gavel for four years — until Republicans won back control of the chamber.
Pelosi, who often called herself a "master legislator," could reliably deliver Democratic votes on must-pass legislation when necessary, although her first speakership came at a complicated time — a financial crisis was looming and ultimately brought the U.S. economy to its knees.
In September 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke huddled with congressional leaders in the speaker's office on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol. There, Paulson outlined a pending financial crisis "from the depths of hell," as Pelosi later described it. The Bush administration was asking Congress for $700 billion to prop up the U.S. economy.
"When I asked Bernanke what he thought of the secretary's characterization, he said, 'If we do not act immediately, we will not have an economy by Monday.' This was Thursday night. Everyone in the room was flabbergasted," Pelosi later recalled.
After Barack Obama was elected that fall, Pelosi pushed forward the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a stimulus package to counter the effects of the Great Recession. She was also instrumental in passing the Dodd-Frank reforms to the banking industry and was an architect of the Affordable Care Act. The sweeping health care reform law became the signature achievement of Obama's presidency.
In the wake of those bills, the far-right Tea Party movement helped harden Republican opposition to Obama and Democrats more broadly, and Democrats saw major losses in the 2010 midterm elections that relegated Democrats to the minority and ended Pelosi's first run as speaker. Obama himself described the defeat as "a shellacking."
There was growing expectation that Pelosi would retire from Congress after losing the gavel and control of the House. She was featured in attack ads in swing districts, where Republicans used her image relentlessly and effectively to characterize the entire party as far-left elitists.
Ultimately, Pelosi reclaimed the gavel in 2019 — the first person to do so in over 60 years. Originally thought by analysts to be too liberal to be an effective leader, her legacy is ultimately that of a centrist and legislative pragmatist.
A long tenure
Pelosi served alongside four presidents during her time as speaker.
Her contentious relationship with former Republican President George W. Bush was an early showcase of her ability to turn from aggressive critic to critical legislating partner.
Her relationship with President Trump was more fractious. She led two presidential impeachments and created the bipartisan Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It was the election of President Joe Biden and Democrats gaining control of both chambers of Congress that saw Pelosi enact trillions in new spending through the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS bill and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
When Democrats lost control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections, Pelosi stepped down from leadership amid demands for a turnover to allow a new generation of leaders to ascend. Pelosi continued to serve in the House during a time when Democrats continued to search for a path out of the minority in Washington.
"History will note she is the most consequential speaker of the House of Representatives in our history," then-President Biden said at the time.
That same year, Pelosi's husband, Paul, was violently attacked by an intruder who broke into their home demanding to see the then-speaker. Paul Pelosi underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. The attack was a stark example of the increase in political violence in the country.
Some two years later, Pelosi reportedly played a role privately and publicly in encouraging Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
In 2024, Pelosi was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.
Earlier this year, Pelosi signaled she would wait to make an announcement on her political future until after California voted on Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would enable state leaders to temporarily redraw current congressional lines to favor Democrats.
In a recent interview on CNN, Pelosi said she had "no doubt that if I decided to run, I would win."
"It isn't arrogant," she said. "It's confident."
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