Pelosi to ‘address her future’ amid questions on whether she’ll stay as Democrats’ leader

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will “address her future plans” on Thursday, a top aide said shortly after news broke that Republicans will control the House of Representatives next year.

“@SpeakerPelosi has been overwhelmed by calls from colleagues, friends and supporters. This evening, the Speaker monitored returns in the three remaining critical states,” Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, wrote in a tweet late Wednesday.

“The Speaker plans to address her future plans tomorrow to her colleagues,” Hammill added. “Stay tuned.”

A source told The Hill that Pelosi brought two versions of her speech home with her Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for Pelosi told The Hill that the Speaker would deliver remarks from the House floor at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday.

Republicans were projected to regain majority control of the House for the first time since 2018 after The Associated Press called a race in California for incumbent Rep. Mike Garcia (R), giving the GOP a 218th seat in the lower chamber.

Pelosi, 82, has been notably mum on her plans, deflecting questions about where the longtime Democratic leader sees herself in the caucus during the next Congress.

During an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, she said she was not commenting “until this election is finished,” but told CNN’s “State of the Union” that her decision would “of course” come before Democrats are scheduled to hold leadership elections at the end of the month.

The Speaker has not, however, hinted at what that decision includes.

Pelosi made a promise to a group of her colleagues in 2018 that this year would be her last atop the Democratic caucus, but the party’s unexpectedly strong showing in House races last week has raised questions about whether the Speaker, who in 2007 became the first woman to hold the gavel, will follow through with her four-year-old pledge.

She told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview last week that her choice would “be affected” by the violent attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi, at their San Francisco home late last month.

“I have to say my decision will be affected about what happened the last week or two,” Pelosi told Cooper following the attack.

Pressed on if her decision would be influenced by the assault, Pelosi said “yes.”

That statement, however, has left many wondering just how the brutal incident will affect her decision: Will she leave her spot in leadership — or Congress altogether — to spend more time with her husband, or remain atop the caucus to show that political violence cannot put an end to her historic time in the Capitol?

If Pelosi does bow out of House Democratic leadership, it would spark a seismic shake-up for the caucus and usher in a new slate of younger leaders who have been waiting in the wings for an opening. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is a favorite among many to succeed Pelosi if she steps down.

Attention would also shift to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), with many wondering if Pelosi’s second- and third-in-command would follow her lead and bow out of leadership.

Updated at 11:26 a.m.