Nancy Pelosi, a towering figure in US politics and the first woman to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives, announced on Thursday that she will step down at the next election.
“I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” said the 85-year-old Democrat who has been one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest opponents.
In a video targeted at her hometown constituents in San Francisco, Pelosi said that she would serve her final year “with a grateful heart.”
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Pelosi — whose term ends in January 2027 — was the first woman to lead a major political party in the US Congress.
Despite entering political office later in life, she quickly rose through the ranks to become a darling of liberal West Coast politics and, eventually, one of the most powerful women in US history.
She is in her 19th term and has represented her San Francisco-area district for 38 years. But her fame centers especially on her renowned skills at the national level, leading her party for two decades.
As House speaker for eight years, she was second in line to the presidency, after the vice president, including during Trump’s chaotic first term.
She was revered for her ability to corral her often fractious caucus through difficult votes, including Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act and Joe Biden’s infrastructure programs.
Republicans painted her as the driving force behind a liberal elite that had turned its back on American values and was undermining the social fabric.
Trump especially made her a target, repeatedly insulting her as “crazy Nancy.” Pelosi never shrank from direct confrontations with the Republican leader, including demonstratively ripping up a copy of his State of the Union speech on live television.
Rumors of her departure had been swirling for weeks on Capitol Hill, but she deflected questions over her political future, insisting that she was focused on a redistricting reform initiative in California that passed on Tuesday.
“I say to my colleagues in the House all the time, no matter what title they have bestowed upon me — speaker, leader, whip — there has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, I speak for the people of San Francisco,” Pelosi said.
“I have truly loved serving as your voice,” she said. “As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power.”
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