There is renewed buzz on Capitol Hill that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to announce that she will not seek reelection — though sources stress that the decision is Pelosi’s alone and the fuss about her political future is just speculation until she makes an announcement.
Sources close to Pelosi have signaled over the past several weeks that she is expected to announce a decision on her political future some time after Election Day, with her focus the past several weeks remaining on the redistricting battle in California.
Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Pelosi, declined to confirm to ABC News whether she’ll seek reelection or retire at the end of her term.
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He later posted on X Monday afternoon, “Speaker Pelosi is fully focused on her mission to win the Yes on 50 election in CA. Any discussion of her future plans beyond that mission is pure speculation.”
“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know,” he followed with shortly after.
Asked about the possibility of Pelosi’s possible retirement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Ultimately, we will wait on her to see what decision that she makes, and there’s nothing really more to say beyond that.”
The filing deadline for California is March 6, 2026. Another Democrat, state Rep. Scott Wiener, has already announced his intent to run in Pelosi’s district, though the official filing period does not open until Feb. 9, 2026.
One source downplayed the recent buzz about her retirement, emphasizing that Pelosi, 85, has a plan that she’ll share once she’s ready.
After stepping down as the Democratic House leader in 2023, Pelosi has maintained a critical role in her party’s machinations — particularly as she exercised her outsized influence to pressure President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race and back Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee, creating a rift with the Biden family.
A prolific fundraiser and arguably the most consequential legislator of our time, Pelosi raised more than $1 billion as party leader.
Last year, she underwent hip replacement surgery after falling while traveling on a congressional delegation in Luxembourg. After months of wearing sneakers in the halls of Congress, Pelosi has now resumed wearing her signature stilettos.