House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman forcefully pushed back on reports Monday that the 82-year-old California Democrat was preparing to retire from Congress.
Drew Hammill, the speaker’s deputy chief of staff and spokesman, said that recent reports speculating about Pelosi’s future were inaccurate.
“The Speaker has not made a decision about her future. As the Speaker just stated yesterday on national TV, she will make a decision once all the votes have been counted,” said Hammill. “She’s not even thinking about her future at this moment.”
Hammill also said that Pelosi had no interest in accepting an ambassadorship or other administration post from President Biden.
“She intends to continue serving in Congress regardless of her decision about House Democratic leadership,” said Hammill.
Speculation about Pelosi’s future has mounted in recent days after Republicans appeared to win control of the House in the midterm elections. While not all the contests have been called yet, Republicans are leading in more outstanding races than Democrats.
Pelosi, who initially pledged only to serve two terms as speaker when elected to the post in 2018, has remained quiet. The speaker spent the days after the election traveling to Egypt for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.
“While many races remain too close to call, it is clear that House Democratic members and candidates are strongly outperforming expectations across the country,” Pelosi said last week.
Republicans, meanwhile, have begun the process of electing a new House speaker. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is actively whipping votes for his bid to lead the House, but is likely to face a challenge from his right.
“The speaker will make an announcement when she makes an announcement,” Hammill told Fox News Digital. “Until then, let’s all enjoy watching Kevin McCarthy lose a speakership his party hasn’t even won in the first place.”
