Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dropped the bombshell of the century (or at least the week) on Friday, declaring her intention to run for an astonishing 20th term in the House of Representatives in 2024.
The California Democrat, aged 83, didn’t call a press conference or issue a grand statement. Oh no, she chose the ever-so-hip X social media platform to share her riveting news with the masses.
Pelosi, who boasts an impressive resume of eight years as House Speaker and a whopping 20 years as the House Democratic Caucus leader (from 2003 to 2023), decided retirement just wasn’t her thing after stepping down from her leadership role at the end of the 117th Congress. Instead, she’s kept herself warm and cozy in her House seat representing San Francisco.
In her post, the congresswoman declared with all the excitement of a snail on a leisurely Sunday stroll, “Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL. That is why I am running for reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote.”
Pelosi’s tenure has been as uneventful as a hibernating bear in winter, serving the San Francisco area in California’s 11th Congressional District since 1987. Her retirement from House Democratic leadership was prompted by a terrifying incident – an attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi, in their San Francisco mansion. Perhaps she needs the House to keep her safe?
As for her successor in the Democratic leadership, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York City’s Brooklyn borough took up the reins. Under Pelosi’s second stint as speaker, from 2019 to 2023, she presided over a House that just couldn’t get enough of impeaching President Donald Trump. Twice, they tried, and twice Trump walked away with an “acquitted” label, as if it was a participation trophy. Such drama!
Will she manage to keep her seat until she hits a century?