Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol has given her a reason to remain in Congress, but she hasn’t yet decided whether to run again next year.
“January 6 is an incentive to stay,” Pelosi, 83, said in an interview Friday in San Francisco. “It was an assault on our democracy, it was an assault on our Constitution.”
As rioters seeking to undo the result of the 2020 presidential election stormed the Capitol, she and other lawmakers were evacuated to a secure location, where they made urgent calls seeking assistance.
At the Capitol, crowds shouted “Nancy, Nancy” and breached her office, while her staff hid in nearby rooms.
She said state Democratic officials would like her to make a decision in time for the party’s convention in November.
But her husband, Paul Pelosi suffered a fractured skull after being attacked by a hammer-wielding intruder in the couple’s San Francisco home last October and a trail for the suspect’s trial is also scheduled for November.
“I want him to get well first,” Pelosi said. She added: “I love the party, it’s my political home.”
The uncertainty over her plans has fueled speculation over her San Francisco-based seat, which she’s held since 1987.
The first woman to serve as House speaker, Pelosi lost the post when Republicans took control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections. She then stepped down as House Democratic leader, and was succeeded by Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Her campaign had about $3.6 million cash on hand at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
--With assistance from Laura Davison.
(Updates with state party convention, in fifth paragraph. An earlier version corrected to remove reference to discussions about 2024 between Pelosi and her husband)
