(The Center Square) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was noncommittal about running for office next year when questioned about it on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
“Oh, you think I’m going to make an announcement right here and now?” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
When asked again during the interview, Pelosi, whose district encompasses most of San Francisco, said, “Why would I tell you that now? Probably, I would have that conversation with my family first, if you don’t mind.”
In 2018, Pelosi told House Democrats she would only serve two terms as House speaker, reaffirming her pledge in November last year when the issue of term limits came up after 10 Democrats voted against her.
“Ahead of the 116th Congress, Pelosi cut a deal with a handful of members threatening to vote against her for speaker on the floor,” Roll Call reported last year. “To win their support, the California Democrat agreed to allow the caucus to vote on proposed term limits for the top three Democratic leaders and to abide by the proposal herself regardless of whether it was adopted.”
Pelosi was elected speaker for the fourth time this year, having been elected to the position in the 110th, 111th, 116th and 117th sessions of Congress.
In June, Pelosi attempted to downplay rumors that she was planning on retiring.
In response to MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski asking her how she felt about the word “retirement,” the 81-year-old replied, “What’s that?”
“People make their own decisions about timing” and “don’t have to comply with somebody else’s view,” she added.
If she were to retire, she’d be joining three top Democrats who announced this month that they were retiring: Reps. David Price of North Carolina, a senior member on the House Appropriations Committee; Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairman; and House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth of Kentucky.
Price, who is also 81, has represented his district for 30 years.
Pelosi, who was first elected in 1987, also served as a Democratic Whip and was the first female to be chosen as Democratic Minority Leader in 2002. In 2007, she was the first woman to be elected speaker of the House in the history of Congress.
