Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not want to talk about her political future as rumors and concerns mount about the 84-year-old’s next move.
When questioned recently about being challenged in the primary for her San Francisco seat, the California Democrat brushed the matter aside.
Pelosi was asked by a reporter at a San Francisco event if this would be her final term in Congress.
“I didn’t come here to talk politics. When I’m in a political arena, I’ll have an answer for you, but that doesn’t worry me one bit,” the longtime lawmaker reportedly snapped back in response.
The congresswoman was back in her home state last week when the exchange took place during a media event.
“Why do they always give women the dumb questions?” the former speaker allegedly asked a staff member as she was being led away.
The news for Pelosi appears to have gone from bad to worse in recent weeks following a fall in Europe that led to emergency hip replacement surgery.
As Pelosi continues recovering from her accident — she was seen using a walker on the House floor just last week — she now faces a primary challenge from a far-left former aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), according to a Thursday report.
Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff for AOC, announced that he would challenge Pelosi in the primary. He cited the former speaker’s efforts to block the progressive New York congressmember from becoming the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee as his reason for running, Politico reported.
“I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago,” Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old former tech worker, posted on the X platform. “America is stuck, and Americans want real solutions that are as big as the problems we face.”
Pelosi, who stepped down as speaker in 2022 after nearly 20 years in the role, easily won reelection to her solidly Democratic San Francisco seat last year. Her office declined to comment on Chakrabarti’s announcement.
She has filed paperwork to run for re-election in 2026 but has not publicly confirmed whether she intends to seek another term. State Sen. Scott Wiener has long been expected to run for the seat if Pelosi were to step down. Local political observers have also speculated that Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, might run for the seat if her mother were to retire.
Whoever wins the primary is likely to secure the general election and hold the seat for a long time in a city that remains a Democratic stronghold, Politico added.
All the while, Nancy Pelosi continues to recover from her hip surgery.
“Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend,” spokesperson Ian Krager said in a statement sent to HuffPost in mid-December.
The statement added that the former House Speaker was “grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their excellent care and kindness.”
Pelosi’s husband, Paul, has also come under fire in recent years for making tens of millions of dollars in the stock market while his wife (Nancy) serves in Congress. This has sparked concerns from both Republicans and Democrats.
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