(Headline USA) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reportedly plans to step down from Democratic leadership and seek an ambassadorship if her party loses the House majority this November, according to Fox Business.
Pelosi has talked to the White House about potentially serving as the next U.S. ambassador to Italy if Republicans win back the House, sources said.
President Joe Biden has even agreed to keep the spot open for her, which is why he has not yet filled the position that has been open since he took office.
However, Pelosi’s office pushed back on the report.
“The speaker has no interest in this position and has not discussed it with anyone in the White House,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement on Tuesday.
The White House declined to elaborate on the rumor, saying, “We don’t engage in hypotheticals.”
If Pelosi were to seek the ambassadorship, it’s unclear whether she would be confirmed by a closely divided Senate. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., predicted she would “have a hard time” winning over the Senate GOP.
“I think she’s been such a partisan person that I think it would be very difficult for Republican Senators to say she would do a great job at this,” Scott said. “You know, she’s become so partisan, year after year, it’s been worse and worse. As speaker, she’s been horrible.”
Pelosi visited Italy during Congress’s summer recess and met with Pope Francis during her stay. She was also seen lounging on the beach at opera star Andrea Bocelli’s luxury Alpemare Beach Club in Tuscany with her husband, Paul Pelosi, who is awaiting trial for a DUI charge.
The U.S. ambassador’s house in Italy is a massive villa in Rome that includes a pool, private gardens and a three-story wine cellar.
