(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will not seek reelection to the U.S. House, bringing to a close her career as one of most powerful but divisive women in American politics.
Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, announced her decision Thursday.
“I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” Pelosi said in a video address to voters.
Pelosi, appearing upbeat and forward-looking as images of her decades of accomplishments filled the frames, said she would finish out her final year in office.
Thank you, San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/OP8ubeFzR6
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 6, 2025
“My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” she said. “We have made history. We have made progress. We have always led the way.”
Pelosi said, “And now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
President Donald Trump, however, disagreed with Pelosi’s framing.
“She was evil. Corrupt. And only focused on BAD things for our country,” he reportedly said. “I’m very honored she impeached me twice and failed MISERABLY.”
Trump was referring to Pelosi leading impeachment efforts for holding up an arms deal to Ukraine, and for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill election protests. Pelosi’s efforts to impeach Trump stood in stark contrast to her declining to pursue former President George W. Bush over his illegal invasion of Iraq and his torture program.
While she couldn’t derail Trump, Pelosi did play a key role in ousting former President Joe Biden—force him to drop out of the 2024 election that July. According to Politico, she gave Biden three weeks to decide whether he would withdraw “the easy way or the hard way,” the latter of which entailed having his Cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment to declare him unfit for office.
Along with her political maneuverings, Pelosi’s final years in office have been embroiled in speculation about alleged insider stock trading.
For example, in June 2021, her husband, Paul Pelosi, exercised call options on 4,000 shares of Google parent company Alphabet, netting $5.3 million in profits just one week before the House Judiciary Committee voted on antitrust legislation targeting big tech companies, according to a report by Fortune. The timing proved fortuitous when the market determined the proposed regulations posed no real threat to tech giants, allowing share prices to continue rising.
More recently, tracking accounts flagged Paul Pelosi’s sale of 2,000 Visa shares worth between $500,000 and $1 million on July 1, 2024, just weeks before the Department of Justice filed a major antitrust lawsuit against the credit card company.
BREAKING🚨: Pelosi is back on the Trading Desk
She just bought ~$5M of Broadcom $AVGO and another $1.2M of Nvidia $NVDA
She also sold ~$500K of Tesla and ~$536K of Visa $V pic.twitter.com/RGQoG4oW3F
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@pelositracker) July 3, 2024
Pelosi’s decision, while not fully unexpected, ricocheted across Washington, and California, as a seasoned generation of political leaders is stepping aside ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Some are leaving reluctantly, others with resolve, but many are facing challenges from newcomers eager to lead the Democratic Party and confront Trump.
Pelosi remains a political powerhouse and played a pivotal role with California’s redistricting effort, Prop 50, and the party’s comeback in this month’s election. She maintains a robust schedule of public events and party fundraising, and her announced departure touches off a succession battle back home and leaves open questions about who will fill her behind-the-scenes leadership role at the Capitol.
Last year, she experienced a fall resulting in a hip fracture during a whirlwind congressional visit to allies in Europe, but even still it showcased her grit: It was revealed she was rushed to a military hospital for surgery — after the group photo, in which she’s seen smiling, poised on her trademark stiletto heels.
Pelosi’s decision also comes as her husband of more than six decades, Paul Pelosi, was gravely injured three years ago when an intruder demanding to know “Where is Nancy?” broke into the couple’s home and beat him over the head with a hammer. His recovery from the attack, days before the 2022 midterm elections, is ongoing.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Pelosi faced a potential primary challenge in California. Left-wing newcomer Saikat Chakrabarti, who helped devise progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political rise in New York, has mounted a campaign, and state Sen. Scott Wiener is also reported to be considering a run.
While Pelosi remains an unmatched force for the Democratic Party, having fundraised more than $1 billion over her career, her next steps are uncertain. First elected in 1987 after having worked in California state party politics, she has spent some four decades in public office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
