- Nancy Pelosi has announced her retirement from Congress.
- She will not be seeking re-election at the end of her term in January 2027.
- This decision concludes a decades-long career where she became one of the most powerful figures in US politics.
- Pelosi made history as the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.
- She led her party in the lower chamber of Congress from 2003 until 2023.
- Her tenure as Speaker of the House included two periods: from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.
- The Speaker of the House is a constitutionally defined role, second in line to the presidency after the vice-president.
- She played a critical role in advancing or thwarting the agendas of multiple presidents during her time on Capitol Hill.
- Pelosi is widely credited with marshalling the passage of former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare legislation.
- During Joe Biden’s presidency, she helped shepherd through a Covid relief bill, a bipartisan infrastructure spending package, a multi-trillion-dollar environment and social spending program, and legislation protecting gay marriage.
- She directly challenged Donald Trump throughout his presidency, famously ripping up a copy of his State of the Union address.
- Initially reluctant, she eventually supported impeachment efforts against Trump in 2019 due to his dealings with Ukraine.
- Pelosi was first elected to Congress to represent San Francisco in 1987 at the age of 47.
- In her video message, she stated, “We have made history, we have made progress,” and urged continued participation in democracy.
- Even after leaving her speakership, she remained a major political influence, for example, by helping to pass Proposition 50 in California.