Nancy Pelosi will make decision on future TODAY after losing her job as speaker

With Republicans set to take over the House of Representatives and Democrats slated for leadership elections at the end of the month, outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi‘s will tell people her plans on Thursday.

Pelosi, 82, announced through a spokesperson that she’ll ‘address her future plans’ later today with speculation already having begun as to whether she’ll remain the leader of the Democrats. 

Rumors have suggested that Pelosi would step down from Congress entirely, potentially leaving her extremely left-leaning district in San Francisco to her daughter Christine.  

She has served in Congress since 1987 and on two occasions as speaker, is currently helping her husband recover from a home invasion and attack in late October.   

President Joe Biden has asked Pelosi, a fellow Democrat, to remain in Congress and to continue holding a Democratic leadership role, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

There was no comment on whether Pelosi responded to Biden.

With Republicans set to take over the House of Representatives and Democrats slated for leadership elections at the end of the month, outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s will tell people her plans on Thursday

Pelosi, 82, announced through a spokesperson that she’ll ‘address her future plans’ later today with speculation already having begun as to whether she’ll remain the leader of the Democrats

The speaker has long been under pressure from some pockets of her rank-and-file to step down and make way for a new generation of Democratic leadership.

But Pelosi has long been viewed as an effective leader and savvy tactician and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic candidates over the past couple decades.

Those are seen as attributes that could help Biden navigate the second half of his term, especially if Republicans control the House.

If she were to resign, many think New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic caucus would be in line to take up Democrat leadership.

While a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Jeffries has often clashed with the so-called ‘Squad’ leftists and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, having expressed frustration in October, saying: ‘there´s a difference between the socialist machine and mainstream progressives.’

Jeffries, 52, speaking to reporters in a roundtable interview a few days before New York’s August primaries, said Democrats whose legislative records are ‘deeply progressive’ still face criticism from ‘online virtue signalers’ because they are not further left.

‘There are some forces on the left that want to define ‘progressive’ as `You bend the knee and we tell you what to do, and if you fail to fall in line, you´re a machine Democrat or a corporate sellout.’ That´s a joke,’ he said.

Jeffries said the left had some success taking out more traditional Democrats in 2018 and 2020 as Democratic frustrations with President Donald Trump translated into energy for insurgent campaigns. 

But Jeffries said that once Biden won the White House and his Democratic-controlled Congress began passing legislation, Democratic voters were no longer looking for insurgency.

‘At a certain point in time, voters want results, particularly when Democrats have been entrusted with majorities,’ he said. ‘And that is what we have been delivering.’

If Pelosi were to resign, many think New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic caucus would be in line to take up Democrat leadership

While a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Jeffries has often clashed with the so-called ‘Squad’ leftists and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, having expressed frustration in October, saying: ‘there´s a difference between the socialist machine and mainstream progressives’

During former President Donald Trump’s term, Pelosi did not shy away from challenging him, especially during delicate negotiations over legislation.

She famously ripped up his 2020 State of the Union speech to Congress, in a public display of disgust with that address, as she sat behind him on the House podium.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 82, and Democratic Whip James Clyburn, 83, also have faced calls for capping their careers to make way for younger leaders.

Democrats lost their majority, which they have held since 2019, as a result of the November 8 elections.

If Republicans do take over, they would try to win the January election for the speakership in a vote by the full House. That could open the door to Pelosi serving over the next two years as House Democratic leader if she decided to run for the post and won approval from her fellow Democrats.

During former President Donald Trump’s term, Pelosi did not shy away from challenging him, especially during delicate negotiations over legislation. She famously ripped up his 2020 State of the Union speech to Congress, in a public display of disgust with that address, as she sat behind him on the House podium

Democrats lost their majority, which they have held since 2019, as a result of the November 8 elections

Democrats are set to hold party leadership elections on November 30.

One of the people who could be running for the seat is Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, a Democratic activist who has served as a proxy for her politician mother, if her seat were to open.

Multiple local politicians appear to be setting up for a potential run at her heavily left-leaning district in 2024, which President Joe Biden won in 2020 by over 70 points.

That could potentially make Christine the third generation in a long-running political dynasty, as her grandfather and Nancy’s father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. was a real estate broker who served in Congress from 1939 to 1947 and as mayor of Baltimore, Maryland from 1947 to 1959. 

Christine Pelosi, 56, often appears with her mother at various events and even wrote a book about her in 2019: ‘The Nancy Pelosi Way: Advice on Success, Leadership, and Politics from America’s Most Powerful Woman.’ 

Her political work goes into California Democratic Party positions, including a decade-long stint as chair of the state party’s women’s caucus. 

She’s also served in Washington as a staffer in the Clinton White House as a special counsel in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Pelosi was a Chief of Staff to Representative John Tierney from 2001 to 2005. 

The speaker’s daughter also has been affiliated with the Young Democrats of America. Most prominently, she was one of California’s delegates to the Democratic National Committee and an elector for the state in 2016. 

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, she also served as legal counsel to an ongoing campaign to end workplace harassment, going so far as to tell lawmakers in Sacramento: ‘There are rapists in this building’ during a public address. 

Nancy Pelosi can be seen at left in this 1961 photo of her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., speaking with President John F. Kennedy after taking the oath to become a member of the Federal Renegotiation Board

Christine, who is married to film producer Peter Kaufman, has created controversy in recent years with some of her comments online, including a since-deleted 2020 tweet that read: ‘Rand Paul’s neighbor was right’ after the Republican senator was assaulted by a man who lived next door. 

Paul mocked Pelosi’s tweet when offering well-wishes to her father after he was hospitalized. 

She’s even antagonized her fellow Democrats: Prior to his victory in a recall election, she said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should’ve resigned if it appeared he was going to lose. 

Pelosi also antagonized party insiders by trying to get Democrats to stop taking corporate money and attempting to get a debate on climate change into the 2020 Democratic Primary.

Pelosi has created controversy in recent years with some of her comments online, including a since-deleted tweet that ‘Rand Paul’s neighbor was right’ after the Republican senator was assaulted by a man who lived next door in 2020

See also  Why Aubrey Plaza was furious at SAG Awards

While never holding elected office herself, she’s authored two books seen as training for people who want to run campaigns.  

Outside of politics, Pelosi has been a blogger for the Huffington Post and serves on the charity board of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. 

According to a Politico story, many see Pelosi, 56, as the favorite to replace her mother should she throw her name in, with the potential backing of the party apparatus.

Her uncle, Thomas D’Alesandro III, was also mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971. 

Pelosi’s uncle, Tommy D’Alesandro III, also served as mayor of Baltimore

While Speaker Pelosi is one of the wealthiest members of Congress – with a net worth of up to $120 million, according to Yahoo Finance – her brother famously declined to run for a second term, claiming he couldn’t afford to raise five children on a mayor’s salary, the Washington Post said upon his 2019 death.   

Via Zoom, Pelosi spoke on a Democrat Party fundraiser in late October called ‘Strengthening Our Democracy’ and addressed her husband’s condition.

She said: ‘Paul came home yesterday. That enables me to be at home with all of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for kind words, your prayers and your good wishes for Paul.’

Pelosi added: ‘It’s going to be a long haul, but he will be well. And, it’s just so tragic how it happened, but nonetheless, we have to be optimistic. He’s surround by family, so that’s a wonderful thing.’

The House Speaker also referenced her husband’s condition in a state of the race fundraising email sent out Friday evening in which she expressed similar feelings.  

The incident, just days before the November elections, has renewed calls in Congress to beef up security in light of a growing threats against lawmakers. 

Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who is second in the line of succession to the presidency, was in Washington at the time. 

US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a weekend memo to lawmakers that the attack ‘is a somber reminder of the threats elected officials and families face in 2022.’

In a speech Wednesday, US President Joe Biden linked the attack to the political violence unleashed by ex-president Donald Trump’s supporters against Congress on January 6, 2021.

Republicans, he said, have ’emboldened violence and intimidation of voters and election officials.’

‘That is the path to chaos in America,’ he said.