Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will retire at the end of her current term in Congress, beginning the long goodbye as the California Democrat concludes one of the most consequential legislative careers as the most powerful elected woman in U.S. history.
“I want you, my beloved San Franciscans, to be the first to know,” Pelosi said in a video message. “I will not seek reelection to Congress. With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.”
Pelosi’s term in Congress ends on January 3, 2027.
Pelosi, 85, was the first woman elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on November 6, 2025 in a video that she will retire at the end of her current term in Congress.
Courtesy of Nancy Pelosi
He has represented part of the San Francisco area in the House since 1987. This is his 19th term.
“As we move forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” Pelosi said in the video announcement.
For weeks, Pelosi had deflected questions about her political future, insisting that her central focus was ensuring that the Proposition 50 redistricting ballot measure passed in California. With that accomplishment in the rearview mirror, Pelosi quickly made clear her plans not to seek another term in the House.
“I tell my colleagues in the House all the time, no matter what title you’ve given me, speaker, leader, leader, there has been no greater honor for me than to stand in the House and say, I speak for the people of San Francisco. I have truly loved being their voice,” Pelosi said in the video.
Democrats pay tribute to his service and influence in the party.
“I have often said that Nancy Pelosi was the greatest Speaker of the House in American history, which is why I awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” former President Joe Biden said in a statement. “When I was president, we worked together to grow our economy, create millions of jobs and make historic investments in our nation’s future. She has dedicated much of her life to this country and America will always be grateful. Jill and I wish Nancy and Paul all the best.”
Former President Barack Obama thanked Pelosi for her role in passing the Affordable Care Act through Congress. Pelosi called the passage of Obamacare her “great achievement” in her 39 years in the House.
“No one was more skilled at bringing people together and getting legislation passed, and I will always be grateful for their support of the Affordable Care Act,” Obama said. “She made us proud to be Democrats and will go down in history as one of the greatest speakers the House of Representatives has ever had.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “America is a much better nation today because Nancy Pelosi dedicated her life to serving the children, the climate, the country and the American people.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Pelosi “has inspired generations” and “set the standard for what public service should be.”
Pelosi’s rise
Pelosi was elected the first female speaker in 2007 and elected again in 2019, the only speaker in 70 years to win the office twice after losing it when Republicans regained the House majority in 2010.
He led House Democrats for 19 years and previously served as House Democratic leader. He rose to prominence in 2002 after whipping the party majority against a resolution on the Iraq War that his mentor, then-Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, crafted with President George W. Bush’s administration. He became minority leader when Gephardt resigned to run for president.
“This is a historic moment,” he said in a speech after accepting the speaker’s gavel for the first time. “It’s a historic moment for Congress. It’s a historic moment for American women.”
His measured rise to power was characterized by his firm command of domestic politics and his ability to unite warring Democratic factions to achieve legislative success.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi receives the gavel from House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner after being elected as the first woman president of the 110th Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol, January 4, 2007 in Washington.
Rich Lipski/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Journalist Susan Page, author of a biography about the House speaker, called Pelosi a “master of the inside game of politics and being a legislative leader” in an April 2021 interview with ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast.
Page revealed in his book that Pelosi originally planned to resign after the 2016 election, but changed her mind after President Donald Trump was elected in 2016.
In 2019, Pelosi led the investigation that resulted in the third presidential impeachment in history following what the impeachment charges said were Trump’s alleged moves to solicit foreign intervention in the 2020 presidential election and withhold congressionally allocated assistance to Ukraine.
Pelosi led Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021 after his supporters mounted a violent insurrection against the US Capitol following the 2020 presidential election that Trump attempted to overturn. He then led the House in creating a bipartisan select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack.
“I enjoyed working with three presidents who made historic investments in clean energy with President George Bush, transformed health care reform with President Barack Obama, and forged the future from infrastructure to health care to climate action with President Joe Biden,” Pelosi said in a presidential farewell address in December 2022, notably leaving Trump off the list.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up her copy of President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address to members of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 4, 2020 in Washington.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 1940 to an Italian-American family. His father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., was a Democratic politician who represented Maryland’s 3rd congressional district in the House and later served as mayor of Baltimore. His mother, Annunciata M. “Nancy” D’Alesandro, was also involved in Democratic politics as an organizer.
She met Paul Pelosi at Georgetown University in 1961. The couple married in 1963 and had five children. Pelosi raised her children in San Francisco and founded a Democratic Party club in her home, until she began working for California Governor Jerry Brown’s presidential campaign in 1976, when she was 36 years old.
In 1981, she was chairwoman of the Democratic Party in the state of California.
In 1987, Pelosi won a special election for California’s then-5th congressional district, which encompassed most of the city of San Francisco. Pelosi rose through the ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected House Minority Leader in 2002. She was elevated to House Minority Leader the following year, becoming the first woman to hold each of those positions in either chamber of Congress.
In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was the victim of an attack at the couple’s home in San Francisco. The attacker later told authorities that the attack was intended for Nancy Pelosi, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Following the loss of the Democratic majority in the House in November 2022, Pelosi said she would hand over the gavel one last time.
“History will point out that she is the greatest speaker of the House of Representatives in our history,” Biden said in a statement at the time.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Isabella Murray, Allison Pecorn and Adisa Robinson contributed to this report.
