Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised allegations on Tuesday night, accusing interim Speaker Patrick McHenry of directing her to vacate her workspace in the Capitol shortly after the abrupt change in leadership within the chamber.
In a statement, Pelosi, a Democrat from California, disclosed that she was instructed to “immediately” vacate her so-called hideaway office located in the Capitol.
“With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol,” Pelosi stated, referring to McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, by his new title.
While most House lawmakers have their offices in buildings across the street from the Capitol, Pelosi has maintained an office within the Capitol due to her previous position as speaker.
NBC News has obtained an email purportedly from the House Administration Committee, addressed to Pelosi’s staff, instructing her to vacate the workspace under the control of the speaker’s office by Wednesday.
“The Speaker pro tempore is going to re-assign H-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” the email read.
A source familiar with the situation clarified that “this decision was made by the former Speaker’s office, not the Committee on House Administration.”
A spokesperson for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, declined to comment. McHenry’s office had not responded to a request for comment as of Tuesday evening.
“Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time,” Pelosi added in her statement.
Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away last week at the age of 90.
Pelosi highlighted, “This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition.”
“As Speaker, I gave former Speaker [Dennis] Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished. Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them,” Pelosi stated.
Nancy Pelosi served as the first female speaker of the House, holding the position for a total of eight years—from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Following her tenure, Pelosi was awarded the ceremonial title of “Speaker Emerita” by her Democratic colleagues in November.