Former United States House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has announced she will retire from Congress at the end of her term in January 2027, marking the close of a historic and influential career spanning more than three decades.
In a video message released on Thursday, the California Democrat, aged 85, said she would not seek re-election, thanking her constituents and colleagues for their support.
“We have made history, we have made progress,” Pelosi said. “We have always led the way, and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
Pelosi made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, a position she held twice from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. She led House Democrats from 2003 until 2023, becoming one of the most powerful figures in American politics.
Representing San Francisco since 1987, Pelosi has been instrumental in advancing key Democratic priorities, including the passage of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and major infrastructure and climate legislation under President Joe Biden.
As Speaker, she also clashed repeatedly with Donald Trump, most memorably when she tore up his State of the Union address on national television in 2020, a moment that cemented her as both a symbol of Democratic resistance and a target of Republican criticism.
“As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” Pelosi added in her farewell message.
Pelosi’s departure will mark the end of an era for the Democratic Party, closing the chapter on one of the most consequential and polarizing political careers in modern U.S. history.
BBC News
