Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will not be seeking re-election to Congress at the end of her term in January 2027.
Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, announced her decision in a video address, “I will not be seeking reelection to Congress.” Pelosi, 85, said that she would finish out her final year in office.
She urged voters with a call to action to carry on the legacy of agenda-setting both in the US and around the world.
“We have made history. We have made progress. 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. As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power.”
Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi was first elected to Congress to represent San Francisco in 1987 aged 47, and quickly rose through the ranks. She was elected by her party to be Speaker of the House in 2007, becoming the first woman to serve in that role. She served until 2011, when Democrats lost control of the lower chamber, before returning to the Speaker’s chair from 2019 to 2023.
During her first tenure, from 2007 to 2011, she steered the House in passing landmark legislation into law — the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank financial reforms in the aftermath of the Great Recession and a repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy against LGBTQ service members.
She is widely credited with marshalling the passage of former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare legislation, as well as bills to address infrastructure and climate change during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Pelosi also directly challenged Donald Trump throughout his presidency. She led two impeachment efforts against Trump – the first in 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine. Trump was accused of pressing Ukraine to dig up damaging information on Biden, and of using military aid as leverage. He was later acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The second was in 2021, when he was accused by the House of inciting the storming of the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress, with a speech on 6 January to supporters outside the White House. That effort ultimately failed and Trump was acquitted once again.
Later, Pelosi worked with Biden to shepherd much of his legislative agenda through her chamber despite the razor-thin margins.
In less than two years, Democrats in the House pushed through a COVID relief bill, a bipartisan infrastructure spending package, a multi-trillion-dollar environment and social spending programme, and legislation protecting gay marriage.
After Democrats lost control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, Pelosi announced she would not seek another term as party leader. She was succeeded as Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives by New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
Pelosi, A Major Political Influence
Since leaving her speakership, Pelosi has remained a major political influence.
Rather than retire, she charted a new course for leaders, taking on the Emerita title that would become used by others, including Republican Representative, Kevin McCarthy of California during his brief tenure after he was ousted by his colleagues from the Speaker’s office in 2023.
Most recently, she played a key role in helping to pass Proposition 50 in California – a state redistricting effort aimed at flipping five House seats to Democrats during the midterms in 2026.
While Pelosi remains an unmatched force for the Democratic Party, having fundraised more than $1 billion over her career, her next steps are uncertain.
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