House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces “future plans” after GOP wins House

WASHINGTON– House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to speak with colleagues about her plans Thursday after Democrats narrowly lost control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections.

Pelosi’s decision to either seek another term as Democratic leader or to step down was widely anticipated. It would come after the party stopped an expected Republican surge in the House and Senate, but also after a brutal attack on her husband Paul at their San Francisco home late last month.

“The spokeswoman plans to address her future plans to her colleagues tomorrow. Stay tuned in,” Pelosi’s rep Drew Hammill tweeted late Wednesday. He did not provide any further information on the time or place of the announcement.

The spokeswoman “was overwhelmed with calls from colleagues, friends and supporters,” Hammill said, noting that she spent Wednesday night monitoring election results in the end states where ballots were still being counted.

The California Democrat, who became the country’s first woman to wield the speaker’s gavel, is a key figure in US politics.

By announcing her decision, Pelosi could trigger a domino effect in the House Democrat leadership ahead of next month’s internal party elections as the Democrats reorganize for their new role as a minority party in the new Congress.

Pelosis’ leadership team of Maryland Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn has long been a triumvirate. Hoyer and Clyburn are also making decisions about their futures.

The three House Democrat leaders, all now in their 80s, faced restless peers eager for them to step aside and allow a new generation to take charge.

New York Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, and California Rep. Pete Aguilar have at times moved in a similar way as a trio, all working towards leadership roles themselves.

Pelosi, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1987, has long been derided by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal while steadily improving as a seasoned lawmaker and fundraising powerhouse. Her own Democratic peers have at times appreciated but also feared Pelosi’s strong leadership.