Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will reportedly not seek re-election in 2026.
NBC News reporter Scott Wong posted on Monday that “Multiple Democratic elected officials and top aides in CA and Washington tell @NBCNews they believe NANCY PELOSI will choose not to seek re-election in 2026, after nearly four decades representing her San Francisco-based district.”
Wong quoted unnamed Democrats in Congress, such as a House Democratic leadership aide, who said, “I think she’s preparing to exit the stage.”
Another House Dem told Wong, “I wish she would stay for 10 more years. I think she’s out. She’s going to go out with Prop 50 overwhelmingly passing, and what a crowing achievement for her to do that.”
Wong reported by NBC, “While Pelosi hasn’t told colleagues about her plans for the future, she has dropped hints she might be eyeing the exits. At a recent California Democratic delegation meeting on Capitol Hill, she told colleagues she looks forward to watching Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sworn in as the first Black speaker of the House — if she’s still allowed on the floor, she joked, according to a source in the room.”
Pelosi is currently facing a tense primary challenge from the man who helped propel New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to victory during her first congressional race.
Saikat Chakrabarti is challenging Pelosi in California’s 2026 Democratic primary, citing a deep disdain for his party’s establishment, which he said had created an environment of defeat, stagnation, and antipathy to change.
“Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree,” Chakrabarti wrote in a post to X. “I know it might seem it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings.”
Pelosi made headlines last week amid the federal government shutdown as she unleashed a profanity-laced tirade during a tense and off-the-rails NBC interview.
Pelosi, appearing on NBC News, defended her party’s stance that any stopgap funding bill must include provisions to protect Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse cuts to Medicaid.
“What we’re talking about is meeting the health care needs of the American people, little babies, moms with breast cancer, dads with a stroke, and all of that,” Pelosi said.
“The President has said, I hear what they’re saying. It’s all unserious and ridiculous. In fact, I’ve listened to their sh*t, and I tell them to go f** themselves,” she added.
Pelosi acknowledged the language was unusual for her, adding, “I can’t believe I use that word. My kids will be shocked. My grandchildren will be further shocked. I’m just quoting the President of the United States.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reinforced the stance, telling reporters, “We will not support a partisan spending agreement that continues to rip away health care from the American people, period, full stop.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed Jeffries.
“What the Republicans are proposing is not good enough for the American people and not good enough to get our votes,” he said. “The Republicans have to meet us in a true bipartisan negotiation to satisfy the American people’s needs on health care.”
At issue are two priorities Democrats say must be addressed before they can support funding the government: an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year and a reversal of cuts to Medicaid enacted as part of the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” earlier this summer.
Those tax credits, first expanded under then-President Joe Biden in 2022, capped premiums and widened eligibility for ACA coverage.
