Nancy Pelosi, 83, is considering another run for office: report

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is considering another run for office in 2024 despite concerns over the health and mental acuity of several aging politicians in DC — and despite her husband signaling she is “done,” according to a new report.

The 83-year-old California Democrat told Politico that the departures of fellow Golden State female lawmakers — including Rep. Jackie Speier, 73, last year, Sen. Barbara Boxer, 82, in 2017, and soon-to-be-retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90 — gives her pause about leaving office.

“Well let’s just go back about six years and we had Dianne, we had Barbara, we had Jackie Speier, now Jackie is gone, so we’ll see,” she said when asked about whether San Francisco could afford to lose her representation in Congress.

“I haven’t been thinking much about it — yet. But I will. When I need to, I will,” she added.

Pelosi’s allies, including former San Francisco mayors Willie Brown and Art Agnos, have also urged her to give it another shot.

“I hope she does,” Agnos told Politico. “We need her.”

“It’s really hard to leave a job you love and are great at,” Boxer, 82, also said. “If I’m Nancy, it’s not easy.”

But her husband, Paul Pelosi, said his wife signaled she was “done” with public service in passing up a chance to be US ambassador to Italy after Republicans won the House in the 2022 midterms.

“It wouldn’t go away but she was very clear,” he said, referring to speculation about a post-Congress ambassador role: “‘I don’t want the job, I’m done, I’m done.’”

Paul Pelosi, 83, was hospitalized last year after a crazed man entered the couple’s San Francisco home and fractured his skull with a hammer. The incident “affected” Pelosi’s retirement plans, she said soon after.

Her husband has since made a full recovery, and speculation has begun to swirl about whether her daughter, Christine Pelosi, is preparing to run for her mother’s seat.

Critics have also pointed to public freeze-ups by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 81, and many bizarre gaffes by President Biden, 80, as further proof that octogenarians should leave office sooner rather than later.

Pelosi has equally complicated matters by supporting Feinstein’s decision to finish her term, rather than resign from office.

Feinstein, 90, has expressed confusion about her whereabouts in recent months and ceded power of attorney to her daughter — but will remain in the Senate through the 2024 election, after which she has pledged to step down.

The San Francisco Democrat was hospitalized for a case of shingles earlier this year and recovered at home for months before returning to work.

Rumors have circulated that Pelosi has been putting her thumb on the scale in the next California Senate race, as another one of her daughters, Nancy Corinne Prowda, has been seen helping Feinstein around the Capitol.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to replace Feinstein with a black female senator if she left office early, but Pelosi endorsed Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for the 2024 race.

“She’s doing OK, she’s doing OK,” Pelosi said of Feinstein, saying attacks on her were employing a double standard. “She’ll be able to do what she needs to do to vote and serve on the Appropriations Committee.”

“It’s OK, you know they can vote, and it’s all they need to do,” she added of former male lawmakers. “And then Dianne comes along and then they’re making such a fuss? Uh-uh. It’s a guy thing, but that’s the way the world is.”

Pelosi also downplayed the senator’s physical infirmity and said her daughter has enjoyed a long friendship with Feinstein.