Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to be elected Speaker of the House, has announced her retirement from Congress, ending her decades-long career in American politics.
In a video message to voters, the 85-year-old who represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, said she will not be seeking re-election to Congress.
“My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” she said in her message.
“We have made history. We have made progress. We have always led the way.”
She added: “And now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
Pelosi was first elected to represent San Francisco in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become the first woman to be elected US House speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in Congress.
She became the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, before returning to the speaker’s chair from 2019 to 2023.
The California congresswoman headed House Democrats from 2003 to 2023.
During her second tenure in 2019, Pelosi led two impeachment efforts against US President Donald Trump – the first in 2019 and the second in January 2021 when Trump was accused of inciting the storming of the Capitol.
However, in both cases, the Senate acquitted him.
She, along with former US president Barack Obama, was reportedly involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to make Joe Biden exit the race.
The congresswoman is also credited for steering the House to pass the Affordable Care Act, a landmark legislation into law, which aims to increase health insurance coverage and affordability.
Her decision to step down may also be a result of the challenges she has faced in recent years.
Last year, she fractured her hip after a fall on a trip to Europe, where she was rushed to a military hospital for surgery.
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In 2022, Paul Pelosi, her husband of more than six decades, sustained serious injuries after an intruder attacked him with a hammer after breaking into the couple’s San Francisco home.
The attacker was searching for the Democratic leader, shouting “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” before assaulting Mr Pelosi with a hammer.
Nevertheless, Pelosi remains a political powerhouse and played a pivotal role in helping to pass California’s redistricting effort, Proposition 50, and the party’s comeback in this month’s election.
Eyes will now turn to who may succeed Pelosi after she faced a potential primary challenge from left-wing newcomer Saikat Chakrabarti, who helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political rise in New York, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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