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SAN FRANCISCO -- Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat who leveraged decades of power in the U.S. House to become the first woman ever elected speaker, will not run for reelection in 2026, she said Thursday. The former House speaker, 85, who has been in Congress since 1987 and oversaw both of President Donald Trump's first-term impeachments, had been putting off her 2026 decision until after Tuesday's vote on Proposition 50, a ballot measure she backed and helped bankroll to redraw California's congressional maps in her party's favor. With the measure's resounding passage, Pelosi said it was time to start clearing the path for another Democrat to represent San Francisco -- one of the nation's most liberal bastions -- in Congress, as some are already vying to do. "With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative," Pelosi said in a nearly six-minute video she posted online early Thursday, in which she also recounted major achievements from her long career. President Donald Trump reacted to the news of Rep. Nancy Pelosi's retirement by bashing his political rival as "evil" and "overrated." "The retirement of Nancy Pelosi is a great thing for America," the president said in a statement read on air by Fox News personality Peter Doocy. "She was evil, corrupt and only focused on bad things for our country. She was rapidly losing control of her party and it was never coming back," Trump texted Doocy. "I'm very honored she impeached me twice and failed miserably twice." Pelosi didn't mention Trump in her nearly six-minute farewell message Pelosi did not immediately endorse a would-be successor, but challenged her constituents to stay engaged. "As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power," she said. "We have made history, we have made progress, we have always led the way -- and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy, and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear." Pelosi has not faced a serious challenge for her seat since President Ronald Reagan was in office, and has won recent elections by wide margins. Just a year ago, she won reelection with 81% of the vote. However, Pelosi was facing two hard-to-ignore challengers from her own party in next year's Democratic primary: state Sen. Scott Wiener, 55, a prolific and ambitious lawmaker with a strong base of support in the city, and Saikat Chakrabarti, 39, a political operative and tech millionaire who is infusing his campaign with personal cash. Their challenges come amid a shifting tide against gerontocracy in Democratic politics more broadly, as many in the party's base have increasingly questioned the ability of its longtime leaders -- especially those in their 70s and 80s -- to sustain an energetic and effective resistance to President Donald Trump. In announcing his candidacy for Pelosi's seat last month after years of deferring to her, Wiener said he simply couldn't wait any longer. "The world is changing, the Democratic Party is changing, and it's time," he said. Chakrabarti -- who helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., topple another older Democratic incumbent with a message of generational change in 2018 -- said voters in San Francisco "need a whole different approach" to governing after years of longtime party leaders failing to deliver. While anticipated by many, Pelosi's decision nonetheless promised to reverberate through political circles, including as yet another major sign that a new political era is dawning for the political left -- as also evidenced by the stunning rise of Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist elected Tuesday as New York City's next mayor. Known as a relentless and savvy party tactician, Pelosi had fought off concerns about her age in the past, including when she chose to run again last year. The first woman ever elected speaker in 2007, Pelosi has long cultivated and maintained a spry image belying her age by walking the halls of Congress in signature four-inch stilettos and keeping up a rigorous schedule of flying between work in Washington and constituent events in her home district. However, that veneer has worn down in recent years, including when she broke her hip during a fall in Europe in December. By bowing out of the 2026 race, Pelosi, who stepped down from party leadership in 2022, diminished her own potential for an ungraceful last chapter in office. But she did not concede that her current effectiveness has diminished. Pelosi was one of the most vocal and early proponents of Proposition 50, which amends the state constitution to give state Democrats the power through 2030 to redraw California's congressional districts in their favor. The measure was in response to Republicans in red states such as Texas redrawing maps in their favor at Trump's direction. Pelosi championed it as critical to preserving Democrats' chances of winning back the House next year and checking Trump through the second half of his second term, something she and others suggested will be vital for the survival of American democracy. On Tuesday, California voters resoundingly approved Proposition 50. In her video, Pelosi noted a litany of accomplishments during her time in office, crediting them not to herself but to her constituents, labor groups, nonprofits and private entrepreneurs, and the city's vibrant diversity and flair for innovation. She noted bringing federal resources to the city to recover after the Loma Prieta earthquake, and San Francisco's leading role in tackling the devastating HIV/AIDS crisis through partnerships with University of California San Francisco and San Francisco General, which "pioneered comprehensive community based care, prevention and research" still used today. She mentioned passing the Ryan White CARE Act and the Affordable Care Act, building out various San Francisco and California public transportation systems, building affordable housing and protecting the environment -- all using federal dollars her position helped her to secure. "It seems prophetic now that the slogan of my very first campaign in 1987 was, 'A voice that will be heard,' and it was you who made those words come true. It was the faith that you had placed in me, and the latitude that you have given me, that enabled me to shatter the marble ceiling and be the first woman Speaker of the House, whose voice would certainly be heard," Pelosi said. "It was an historic moment for our country, and it was momentous for our community -- empowering me to bring home billions of dollars for our city and our state."
