Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who became the speaker pro tempore of the House after the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday, ordered fellow former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to "immediately" vacate her Capitol hideaway office as one of his first acts.
"Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed," a top Republican aide wrote in an email to Pelosi's office that was obtained by Politico. The email added that the room was assigned by the acting speaker "for speaker office use."
Lawmakers who are not in leadership typically don't have offices in the Capitol but the former speaker had been allowed to keep hers.
A photo obtained by the outlet showed the office being cleaned out. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' staff helped Pelosi's office make the move, according to the report.
Pelosi in a statement lamented that "one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol" amid the Republican chaos that paralyzed the House on Tuesday.
"Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time," Pelosi said.
"This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition," she continued, adding that she allowed disgraced former Speaker Dennis Hastert to keep a "significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished."
"Office space doesn't matter to me, but it seems important to them," she added. "Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled on this important matter, let's hope they get to work on what's truly important for the American people."
Walked by this evening and the hideaway is being packed up -> pic.twitter.com/n0jWFhCHxP
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) October 4, 2023
Pelosi was one of few lawmakers to miss Tuesday's vote on the ouster of McCarthy after traveling to California following Feinstein's death. All present Democrats voted with eight Republicans to vote out McCarthy.
House GOP leaders also kicked former House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer out of his Capitol office, according to Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman. He described the move as "revenge" by Republicans for Democrats voting with the group led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., adding that Republican sources told him to "expect more of this."
McCarthy, who in a CBS interview on Sunday vowed not to negotiate with Democrats to save his job, after the vote complained about the damage he believed Democrats did to the "institution" of the House by not rescuing him. He recalled talking with Pelosi in January amid his 15-ballot fight to become speaker, when he agreed to lower the number of members needed to force a vote on his removal to just one, eventually leading to his downfall, claiming that the former speaker told him she would "always back" him in such a vote.
Democrats on Wednesday lit into Republican leaders for what they described as a "petty" move.
"This is petty and childish. They just can't help themselves," tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., adding a clown emoji.
This is petty and childish. They just can’t help themselves 🤡 https://t.co/OW10CuWX7a
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 4, 2023
"Pretty much the Congressional GOP in a nutshell — lots of important, historic things going on but waste your time on the petty shit instead," wrote Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.
Pretty much the Congressional GOP in a nutshell — lots of important, historic things going on but waste your time on the petty shit instead. https://t.co/qRGvhuBAiA
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) October 4, 2023
"Republicans have no class. The problem is not just that they are incompetent—it's that they are mean and petty," agreed Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
Republicans have no class. The problem is not just that they are incompetent—it’s that they are mean and petty.
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) October 4, 2023
By the way, Nancy Pelosi is in California for the funeral of her dear friend, Diane Feinstein. https://t.co/8YBhtV3bkN
"Really? This is what the MAGA Republican House has been reduced to? They can't get their act together to elect a new Speaker but they find time to evict former Speaker Pelosi from her Capitol office?" questioned Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "This is the tyranny of the petty and small minded."
Really? This is what the MAGA Republican House has been reduced to? They can’t get their act together to elect a new Speaker but they find time to evict former Speaker Pelosi from her Capitol office?
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) October 4, 2023
This is the tyranny of the petty and small minded. https://t.co/c8e20WDNOI
