Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a leading figure in the Democratic Party for more than three decades and the first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced her 2026 retirement today, ending months of speculation about her future.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who made history as the nation’s first female speaker of the House and led House Democrats for two decades, will not seek re-election next year.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not seek re-election, ending her decades-long career as a Democratic lawmaker in Washington, D.C.

New House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hugs her granddaughter during her swearing in ceremony Jan. 7, 2003, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. This is the first day of the 108th Congress and members of the House of Representatives will be sworn in and leadership elections will be held.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday she will retire from Congress at the end of the term in January 2027, putting a bookend on a nearly four-decade, history-making tenure in the House.

The daughter of a politician, she didn’t expect to become one. But once she ran for office in 1987, there was no stopping her.