WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will not run for another term as Democratic leader, adhering to a self-imposed term-limit pledge she made four years ago.
“With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” the California Democrat said in a speech from the House floor. She said she plans to remain a member of the House.
Two other members of her leadership team, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Majority Whip James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, announced afterward they would not seek to return as her top deputies, clearing the way for a younger leadership team in the next Congress.
More than half of the Democratic Caucus, including the current and potential future leadership team, gathered in the chamber to listen to Pelosi’s announcement. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat and former House member who said this week that he’d love to see Pelosi run for leader again, also attended.
The 82-year-old Pelosi has served in Congress since 1987 and led House Democrats since 2002. She was minority leader for four years until Democrats flipped the House and she was elected the first female speaker in 2007.
Pelosi led Democrats in passing major legislation after President Barack Obama took office in 2009, including the signature 2010 health care law she touts as one of her proudest accomplishments. But the initial unpopularity of that law was among the reasons Republicans took back the House later in 2010, relegating Pelosi and Democrats to the minority for eight years.
Democrats won the majority back in 2018 in large part because of their campaign messaging on lowering health care and prescription drug costs, and Pelosi was elected speaker again. But she initially faced pushback from Democrats who wanted to see new leaders. Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn have have led the caucus for years.
To secure the gavel, Pelosi promised those anxious Democrats she would limit herself to two more terms as Democratic leader, which means she was expected to step down at the end of this year.
On Thursday she honored that commitment.
Pelosi told reporters she took two versions of her speech home when she left the Capitol Wednesday evening but returned this morning with one, indicating she made her final decision on the interim.
The Democratic Caucus is scheduled to hold its leadership elections on Nov. 30.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, considered Pelosi’s most likely successor, put out a statement praising Pelosi’s leadership tenure but was silent on his plans. So was Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Pete Aguilar of California, who have been expected to run for the Nos. 2 and 3 slots.
“We’ll communicate to our colleagues when it’s right,” Aguilar said, when asked about his plans after Pelosi’s speech.
Hoyer is not running for leadership again but will remain in the House and said in a statement it was “time for a new generation of leaders.” He endorsed Jeffries for the top position.
“Very frankly, I think I could be elected, that was not the issue,” Hoyer told reporters. “But I think it’s time.”
Clyburn said in a statement after the speech that Pelosi left “an indelible mark on Congress and the country.”
As for himself, Clyburn said he looked forward to “doing whatever I can to assist our new generation of Democratic Leaders which I hope to be Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar.”
While Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn are all in their 80s, Jeffries is 52, Clark is 59 and Aguilar is 43.
Rep. Annie Kuster said she expects the younger trio to run for the top three posts unchallenged.
“What we’re excited about is that they work so well together, and I think that’s a real strength for each of them,” she said. “They bring different traits to the table, to the leadership table. They support each other and they reflect the diversity of our country and our caucus.”
Leaving the floor after her speech, Pelosi declined to say who she would like to succeed her as leader.
Democrats leaving the regular caucus whip meeting Thursday morning, which Pelosi did not attend, said they had no idea what Pelosi would do. But the consensus was if she had decided to run for another term as leader, she would undoubtedly have had the majority of the caucus’s support, which is all she would need to win a minority leader race.
“There’s no question about it in my mind,” California Rep. Mark Takano said. “I think those who are looking to assume leadership are highly deferential to what she wants to do. … She’s been a historic, transformational speaker, the most effective speaker I think in American history.”
Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline said Democrats overperformed midterm election expectations in large part because of Pelosi’s leadership. Republicans officially secured the House majority Wednesday evening, with the current tally of races The Associated Press has called at 218-211.
Ciciline said Pelosi left “a legacy of extraordinary achievement for the American people” and that he would support Jeffries as her successor. “He has demonstrated tremendous talent and an ability to really listen to the members of the caucus,” Cicilline said.
New York Rep. Gregory W. Meeks likewise said he’d back Jeffries, citing his ability, along with Pelosi, to unify what he says is the most diverse Democratic caucus ever in terms of both ethnicity and race. He added that Jeffries has the communication skills necessary to speak to Democrats’ priorities, whether he’s addressing the caucus or the public.
“I think that he’s able to excite Democrats and independents and get a job done,” Meeks said, predicting Jeffries would have enough support to win a majority vote of the caucus.
