Nancy Pelosi has announced she will not run for re-election to Congress in 2026, bringing an end to a four-decade-long career in US politics.
The 85-year-old congresswoman, first elected in 1987, made history as the first woman to serve as the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Her announcement comes just two days after voters in California overwhelmingly approved "Proposition 50," a state redistricting effort aimed at flipping five House seats to Democrats in next year's midterm elections.
"I will not be seeking re-election to Congress," Mrs Pelosi said in a video posted on social media.
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"With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service."
Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York has assumed Mrs Pelosi's former role as House Democratic leader, while Senator Chuck Schumer, aged 74, continues as the party leader in that chamber.
Mrs Pelosi was first elected to be speaker for her party in 2007, a role she served in until 2011, followed by a second stint from 2019 to 2023.
She has been at the forefront in battling for control of the US House of Representatives and especially taking on Republican Donald Trump, who feuded with her in his first presidential term from 2017 to 2020.
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Mrs Pelosi attempted to remove Donald Trump from power twice with House impeachments
|REUTERS
Mrs Pelosi was asked in an interview in 2022 whether she had any career regrets, to which she said she wished she had won more elections to deny Republicans power and "to make sure that a creature like Donald Trump never became president of the United States".
The congresswoman attempted to remove the US President from power twice, with House impeachments in late 2019 and early 2021, only to see Senate Republicans acquit him.
At the President's 2020 State of the Union address, he refused to shake Mrs Pelosi's hand upon his arrival in the House chamber.
She then stood up at the conclusion of his speech and ripped in half a printed copy of the speech, later saying she did so because every page contained a "lie".
Mrs Pelosi ripped up a copy of Donald Trump's speech at the President's 2020 State of the Union address
|REUTERS
Reacting to news of her retirement, Mr Trump told Fox News: "The retirement of Nancy Pelosi is a great thing for America."
He added: "She was rapidly losing control of her party and it was never coming back.
"I’m very honoured she impeached me twice and failed miserably twice."
During her time tens, Mrs Pelosi gained a reputation as a defender of human rights and an early advocate of gay rights at a time when AIDS swept through the world and especially her hometown of San Francisco in the 1980s and beyond.
It was her work in helping then-President Barack Obama win enactment of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare," that she views as her greatest accomplishment.
Healthcare, she said in 2022, "became our big issue and that will be the biggest thing that I've ever done in Congress."
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