Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially announced Thursday she will not seek reelection to Congress, ending a nearly four-decade career that made her one of the wealthiest and most polarizing figures in American politics.
The Horn News reported earlier this week that Pelosi’s retirement would be announced following the results of the elections on Tuesday.
Pelosi, 85, made her formal decision in a video released Thursday morning addressed to the people of San Francisco, whom she has represented since 1987.
“I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” Pelosi said in the nearly six-minute video. “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.”
Pelosi’s term officially ends on January 3, 2027.
Take a look —
Thank you, San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/OP8ubeFzR6
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 6, 2025
The announcement came two days after California voters approved Proposition 50, a controversial ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional districts meant to help Democrats block voters from electing Republican candidates.
Pelosi championed the redistricting plan designed to give Democrats additional House seats in the 2026 midterm elections through aggressive partisan gerrymandering.
Pelosi served as House speaker from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. She was the first woman to serve as House speaker but became known for her iron grip on the Democratic caucus and her ability to push through massive spending bills.
As speaker during former President Barack Obama’s administration, Pelosi marshalled votes to pass the Affordable Care Act, which critics argued have led to higher insurance costs for millions of Americans. She led two failed impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump during his first term.
After Democrats lost control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, Pelosi stepped down as party leader. She took on the emerita title rather than retiring, and continued to wield influence behind the scenes.
Pelosi was widely believed to have pressured former President Joe Biden to end his 2024 reelection campaign after his disastrous debate performance in Jun 2024.
Since 1987 when Pelosi first took office, her personal fortune has ballooned to hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to decades of controversial, perfectly-timed market moves by husband Paul Pelosi.
Two far-Left Democrats have already entered the primary for her seat: California state Sen. Scott Wiener and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Republicans spent years criticizing Pelosi as a wealthy San Francisco liberal out of touch with ordinary Americans. GOP campaign operatives successfully used her as the face of Democratic overreach in congressional races across the country.
Trump has frequently referred to Pelosi as “Crazy Nancy.” She infamously tore up Trump’s State of the Union speech on camera in February 2020, a moment that crystallized her role as Trump’s chief antagonist.
Pelosi’s departure ends an era in Congress dominated by her uncompromising approach to politics, massive government spending initiatives, and her iron grip on Democratic Party politics.