Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California, received an abrupt directive to vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday.
The decision, made by acting Speaker Patrick McHenry, was met with strong criticism from Pelosi, who characterized it as a significant departure from established norms.
An official email sent to Pelosi’s office on Tuesday conveyed that the designated room would be rekeyed and subsequently reassigned for the use of the Speaker of the House, as initially reported by Politico.
Furthermore, it was revealed that former House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, was also instructed to vacate his Capitol hideaway office.
This development transpired shortly after Patrick McHenry was appointed as the House speaker pro tempore.
McHenry assumed this role following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, in a consequential vote held on Tuesday.
“With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi was referring to McHenry, who now holds the position of Speaker Pro Tempore and represents North Carolina as a Republican.
It is worth noting that Nancy Pelosi served two distinct terms as Speaker of the House, first from 2007 to 2011 and then from 2019 to 2023.
“This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition. As Speaker, I gave former Speaker [Dennis] Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”
Pelosi’s current location in California, where she is mourning the passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein, has made it impractical for her to retrieve her belongings from the office. Senator Feinstein, aged 90, passed away on Friday after battling a series of health issues.
As part of the commemorations, Feinstein’s body will lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, with Pelosi expected to deliver remarks at a memorial service outside City Hall on Thursday.
Reports indicate that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ staffers facilitated the process of clearing out Pelosi’s office late on Tuesday. Visible during this operation were a television and various bags, which were subsequently removed from the office.
“Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them,” Pelosi said. “Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people.”
Notably, Nancy Pelosi was not present when the House conducted the vote to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as House speaker. This vote, driven by members of McCarthy’s own party, resulted in his removal from power with a vote tally of 216-210. Eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats in this decision.
