Pelosi Makes Big Announcement After Trump Wins Election
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has officially filed paperwork for the 2026 election, signaling her intention to remain an influential figure in American politics and a prominent opponent of Donald Trump.
The 84-year-old congresswoman, who recently secured her 20th term in office, submitted a statement of candidacy to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. While the documents suggest plans for another campaign, Pelosi's spokesperson declined to confirm whether she would seek re-election.
The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that Trump’s return to the political stage may have motivated Pelosi to stay active. Following the midterms, Pelosi urged House Democrats to draw inspiration from efforts made during Trump’s previous presidency to defend the Affordable Care Act.
In a post-election interview with the New York Times, Pelosi reaffirmed her commitment to advancing the Democratic cause but avoided addressing whether this term would be her last. “I’m not here to talk about that,” Pelosi said. “I’m here to fight the fight so that we win in the next election. I must have thought I had the last term over and over again, but as fate would have it, the mission called.”
During Trump’s first term, Pelosi was a key adversary as House Speaker. With Trump poised to return to the presidency, this would mark the first Republican administration since George W. Bush where Pelosi will not hold a leadership role.
The Washington Examiner highlighted Pelosi’s enduring influence, noting, “The San Francisco mother of five is seen as the main figure who helped end President Joe Biden’s reelection bid, although she has denied playing a significant role. Pelosi, who stepped aside as the House Democratic leader in 2022 to allow a new generation of leaders in the caucus to rise, appears to be at the peak of her power and has been known to be a masterful playmaker behind the scenes.”
Pelosi faced criticism earlier this week from Symone Sanders Townsend, a former Biden aide and current MSNBC analyst, over her alleged role in Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 race. Sanders Townsend suggested that Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers had contributed to the president’s withdrawal.
“Nancy Pelosi, everybody talks about how the speaker emerita, you know, she’s so strategic, she can count, she did all of that when she was the speaker in Congress, but my question is: Where is your calculator now?” Sanders Townsend remarked on MSNBC’s The Weekend. “She played in presidential politics this cycle, and she helped orchestrate the very public demise of the president.”
Sanders Townsend’s comments were sparked by Pelosi’s statements regarding Biden’s withdrawal and her endorsement of Kamala Harris as his successor. On a New York Times podcast, Pelosi remarked that Biden stepping aside earlier could have allowed for a competitive primary, potentially strengthening Harris and the Democratic Party’s position against Trump.
“The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” Pelosi explained. “And as I say, Kamala may have, I think she would have done well in that and been stronger going forward. But we don’t know that. That didn’t happen. We live with what happened. And because the president endorsed Kamala Harris immediately, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time.”
Biden’s withdrawal from the campaign in July, following mounting concerns about his age and a poor debate performance, saw him endorse Harris, aligning with Democrats urging for a stronger challenger to Trump.
Reports suggest Pelosi advised donors and party members to “speak their conscience” about Biden if they harbored doubts about his candidacy. According to an unnamed House Democrat who spoke to NBC News, the wave of dissent within the party was “all Nancy’s doing.”