(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.—the interim House Speaker following Tuesday’s ouster of Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.—has used his newfound authority to evict former Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., from her private office suite, Politico reported.
After Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and several other Republicans voted with Democrats to vacate the speakership, McHenry took over as the temporary leader at the request of McCarthy.
In one of his first moves, the new speaker evicted Pelosi from a private suite that she had kept, despite having handed over the gavel nine months ago.
“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” a Republican aide wrote to Pelosi’s staff. According to the note, the room was to be reassigned “for speaker office use.”
Presumably, it will go to the most recent ex-speaker.
Per the Politico report, there are only enough private offices for a few important members of the House to have one, due to sheer numbers in the deliberative body. Thus it makes perfect sense that the divisive, 83-year-old Democrat, who no longer holds a leadership role within her own party, should relinquish hers.
According to Pelosi, McHenry’s move is just another instance of the lack of civility and proper respect for tradition on the part of Republicans.
She called the move “a sharp departure from tradition,” adding that she had given former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., “a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished” when she was first elected House speaker in 2007.
Her second ascension to the speakership, in 2019, coincided with the retirement of her predecessor, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.
Pelosi left it to her staff to vacate the office after having missed the vote Tuesday to remove McCarthy from the speakership in order to attend the funeral of recently-deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
“Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time,” she said.
