Nancy Pelosi Confirms Retirement: Woman Who Made Millions in Congress Is Finally Leaving It

The corridors of power in Washington, D.C., are about to experience something they haven't seen since Ronald Reagan was president: a Capitol Hill without the presence of Nancy Pelosi. On Thursday, former Speaker of the House Pelosi confirmed that she will not seek reelection in 2026 and will, at last, move on from the seat that she's held since 1987 (a seat, it should be noted, that has made her an extremely wealthy woman).

In making her announcement, Pelosi posted a five-minute video in which sings the praises of San Francisco and its people, and concludes by telling her constituents, "I will not be seeking re-election to Congress. With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative."

WATCH:

Thank you, San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/OP8ubeFzR6
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 6, 2025

Here's a taste of her thoughts on leaving:

“I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress, and I have always honored the song of St. Francis, ‘Lord make an instrument of thy peace,’ the anthem of our city. That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know. I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” Pelosi, 85, said Thursday in a sweeping video that stood as a love letter to the city she has represented for nearly 40 years in Washington.

Speculation had been rampant the last few days that this announcement was forthcoming. Was the octogenarian – a fixture of The Swamp – finally leaving DC?

RedState's Jen Van Laar, who's an expert on California politics, wrote earlier this week about the possibility of Pelosi at long last moving along. Jen speculated on why she was really leaving – it's not so much Pelosi's age as it challenges from younger Democrats to her left – and who might replace her.

Since this is an extremely safe seat in the most liberal part of California (regardless of whether Prop 50 passes on Tuesday or whenever they finish counting ballots), conservatives should keep their celebrating to a minimum. Part of the reason that Pelosi is retiring is her age; she will be 86 on Election Day in 2026. But she's also being credibly challenged by two far-left figures who've already amassed followings and dollars: California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Saikat Chakrabarti, a tech millionaire who founded Justice Democrats and served as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) chief of staff. The emergence of Wiener and Chakrabarti could pose a problem for Pelosi's succession plan: it's well known that she wants her daughter, Christine, a documentary filmmaker and Democrat activist, to essentially inherit her seat.

Pelosi's departure leaves a vacuum for both political parties.

For Democrats, she has spent the last few years propping up her handpicked successor, Hakeem Jeffries, as he's stumbled in the role of House minority leader. Without her powerful presence behind him, Jeffries will become weaker than he already is – could talk of a replacement start making the rounds?

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Pelosi's also a one-woman fundraising juggernaut, having raised gobs of money for the left over the years. It's unlikely donors are going to be as excited to open their wallets for her once she's no longer in public office. That's going to hurt the Democrat Party, which has lagged behind the GOP in fundraising this year. Oh, and they're still paying off Kamala Harris's debt.

Speaking of fundraising, Nancy Pelosi has also been a gift to the Republican Party. They, too, have raised gobs of money off her name; she was the ultimate DC baddie for years, which led to a steady stream of donations going into GOP coffers. They're going to need a new Democrat villain, and, luckily, one has come along at the perfect time: Zohran Mamdani.

Be sure to keep following RedState for all the latest on what will happen to Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat and how the two parties will deal with her absence on Capitol Hill.

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