Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold the gavel, announced on November 6, 2025, that she will not run again in 2026. The 85-year-old California Democrat shared the news in a video message to San Franciscans, signaling the final year of a House career that began with a 1987 special election.
Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, said in a video released Thursday, November 6, 2025, that she will not seek reelection next year. “I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress,” she said, adding, “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.” The Associated Press reported that Pelosi will serve out her term through January 2027.
Pelosi won her seat in a 1987 special election and has served 20 terms. She made history in 2007 as the first woman elected Speaker of the House, a role she held from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. In her first speakership, she said Congress had “broken the marble ceiling.” She led the House through major fights under four presidents, including the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and, later, key parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda such as the infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. (AP, PBS, CNN transcript)
Her tenure also spanned two impeachments of President Donald Trump and the creation of the House select committee to investigate the January 6 attack, which Pelosi established by House resolution in 2021. (Congress.gov, CNBC)
Pelosi’s announcement came two days after California voters approved Proposition 50, a measure she supported that temporarily replaces the state’s independent congressional map with new lines starting in 2026. Republicans have since filed a federal lawsuit challenging the measure. (California Secretary of State, AP/ABC News)
The former speaker has been a central figure in Democratic politics since the AIDS crisis, when she pushed for federal funding and attention to the epidemic in San Francisco. Her record also includes shepherding the 2008 financial rescue through the House during the George W. Bush administration. At Pelosi’s 2022 portrait unveiling, former Republican Speaker John Boehner praised her as “the most effective speaker of either party” and said she was willing to put “nation over party.” (People, NPR affiliate/WHRO, Washington Post)
Pelosi stepped down from party leadership after Democrats lost the House in 2022, months after her husband, Paul Pelosi, survived a violent attack at their San Francisco home. President Biden at the time called her “the most consequential speaker of the House of Representatives in our history.” (Washington Post, ABC News)
Her decision sets off a high-stakes Democratic primary in one of the bluest seats in the country. State Sen. Scott Wiener entered the race in October, and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has also launched a campaign. (NBC Bay Area, CalMatters, CBS Bay Area)
Reaction to Pelosi’s retirement has been sharply divided. Trump told Fox News her departure was “a great thing for America,” calling her “evil” and “corrupt,” according to multiple outlets that reported his remarks. Democratic leaders and longtime allies lauded her legislative skill and trailblazing role. (New York Post, iHeart/WOAI, AP)
Pelosi had recently hinted she would decide her plans after the Proposition 50 vote, and told CNN, “I have no doubt that if I decided to run, I would win… It isn’t arrogant. It’s confident.” (NPR affiliates)
