Tributes to Pelosi after veteran politician says she will retire from Congress

Nancy Pelosi, a California Democratic representative and the first woman to serve as speaker, announced yesterday she would retire from Congress, two years after stepping down from House leadership.

- Lauren Gambino

Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress for nearly 40 years, said in a video address to her constituents she would "not be seeking reelection". Smiling as the music swelled over footage of a storied 20-term congressional career in which Pelosi rose to the apex of American politics, she said she would finish 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 honour 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 American politics. As speaker, she shepherded the major legislative accomplishments of Barack Obama and Joe Biden's presidencies.

Even when no longer in the leadership, Pelosi, 85, remained influential, quietly counselling her party as it navigated Donald Trump's second term. In 2024 she played a key role in pushing Biden to withdraw from the presidential race after a disastrous debate performance.

Under Obama, Pelosi was instrumental in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, among the crowning achievements of the Democratic president. Obama said Pelosi "will go down in history as one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had".

Other Democrats heaped praise on a "trailblazer". Hakeem Jeffries, who succeeded Pelosi in the congressional Democratic leadership, commended her "dedication" to serving, legislative accomplishments, and "strength and dignity" amid the 2021 assault on the US Capitol and the violent attack against her husband in 2022.