Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat and the first woman ever to be named Speaker of the House, in November 2022 announced her retirement at the end of her current term in January 2025
The 85-year-old politician gave the news in a video recording published on Thursday that ended a political career of nearly four decades, which made her one of the influential figures in American politics.
In the message, Pelosi said, “We have made history, we have made progress. We have always been the first to set the pace, and now we simply should not stop doing so, retain our full-fledged members of our democracy, and champion the American ideals that we cherish”.
She ended with an appeal to her constituents in San Francisco: “As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power”.
Congresswoman of San Francisco to National Power Broker
In 1987, Pelosi was elected to Congress to represent the 12th congressional district in San Francisco, California, at the age of 47. She was rapidly rising in the ranks as a Democrat.
She left an impression in history in 2007 when she became the first woman ever to be elected as the Speaker of the House, a position she had served until 2011 when the republicans retook power in the House. Between 2019 and 2023, she returned and became a speaker.
As a legislator, Pelosi was a very important partner or potentially a powerful opponent to the legislative agendas of various presidents.
Partisan Clashes and Legislative Triumphs
Under the leadership of Joe Biden, she assisted in guiding major legislation through the house on infrastructure investment, climate policy and pandemic relief, with most often sailing through narrow majorities on the democratic side of the House.
Her association with President Donald Trump was quite controversial. During the State of the Union speech, Trump delivered in 2020, there was a moment when Pelosi was caught on camera tearing up a copy of his speech as he sat right behind him.
She led two different impeachments against Trump. The first one in 2019 focused on the Trump allegations to pressure Ukraine to examine political opposition candidate Joe Biden and used military aid as a bargaining chip. The second was in January 2021, when the House accused Trump of inciting the violent storming of the US Capitol on January 6.
Both of the impeachment cases were acquitted by the Republican-dominated Senate.
Trump Reacts to Retirement News.
Thursday, Trump reacted crudely to the news of the retirement of Pelosi.
“An evil woman”, Trump told the reporters in the Oval Office.
“I’m glad she’s retiring. I believe that she did the nation a huge favor by retiring. I believe she was an immense burden to the nation”.
The encounter highlighted the lifelong hostility between the two political leaders, the encounters of which characterized much of the partisan politics in Washington over the last ten years.
Continued Influence After Speakership
In 2022, Pelosi resigned as Democratic leader in the House, and her position was occupied by New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries. Nonetheless, she was still a strong figure in the party.
And most recently, she had a major role in California during the Proposition 50 campaign, a redistricting effort to change five Republican-held congressional seats to Democrats in the midterm elections in 2026.
Despite her retirement to Congress, Pelosi remained engrossed in Democratic strategy, as well as fundraising, relying on her decades of relationships and political capital to dictate the party.
This report complies with M10News Editorial Standards for factual accuracy and originality © 2025 M10News
