Nancy Pelosi, a California Democratic representative and the first woman to serve as speaker, announced on Thursday she will retire from Congress, two years after stepping down from House leadership.
Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress for nearly 40 years, said in a video address to her constituents that she would “not be seeking re-election”. Smiling as the music swelled over footage of a storied 20-term congressional career that saw Pelosi rise to the apex of American politics, she said she would finish out her final year in office.
“I was able to represent our city and our country around the world with patriotism and pride,” she said. “I say to my colleagues in the House all the time, no matter what title they have bestowed upon me, there has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco.’”
A force on Capitol Hill for decades, Pelosi will leave Washington as one of the most consequential figures in modern congressional history and as a trailblazer who expanded the boundaries of power for women in US politics. As speaker, she shepherded the major legislative accomplishments of Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s presidencies.