House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that she plans to run for re-election, aiming to run for more than 30 years in Congress.
"I am running for Congress again and respectfully seek your support," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said in a video message posted to her political Twitter account. "I would feel very honored and grateful for that."
Pelosi did not specifically announce that she would run for speaker in her video announcement. She promised in 2018 that the position would be her last, but she hasn't confirmed whether that's still her plan.
Pelosi's announcement of re-election comes as House Democrats are retiring in record numbers as Republican-controlled state legislatures are redrawing the district map in favor of GOP lawmakers and the party's potential this fall. Facing challenging mid-term elections. Tennessee's Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper was the latest Democrat to announce his retirement at the end of this Congress on Tuesday, bringing the total number of House Democrats to retire at the end of the term to 29. But a prolific fundraiser and experience as a deal maker, Pelosi is seen as instrumental in helping Democrats running across the country.
In addition to retirement, Pelosi continues to grapple with how the Democratic majority in Congress is preventing the party from passing key pieces of President Joe Biden's agenda. Although Pelosi was able to manipulate the bipartisan infrastructure bill through Congress, Biden's social safety net plan, known as Build Back Better, and factions and disagreements within the party led to major voting in the Senate. Rights law is stalled how to proceed.
"While we have made progress, more needs to be done to improve people's lives," Pelosi said. "Our democracy is at risk because of attacks on the truth, attacks on the US Capitol, and attacks on voting rights by the state. This election is important. Nothing less than our democracy is at stake. But as we say, we suffer No, we organize."
Pelosi's decision to run for re-election but not announce her run for speaker comes amid a huge conversation Democrats are having internally: whether it's time for the party to give way to a younger leadership. Or is Pelosi the key to keeping the party together at a time when it needs a clear leader.