Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had refused to leave her secret office under the previous speaker, was ordered to leave it by the acting speaker of the House of Representatives as his first action.
A group of Republicans and Democrats worked together to remove California Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker this week. Representative Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) took over as speaker for a short time and then gave the order against Pelosi several hours later.
The email to Pelosi said, “Please vacate the space by tomorrow, the room is going to be re-keyed,” Politico said. It said in the email that the workspace would ultimately be used for “speaker office use.”
In a statement from her office, Pelosi slammed the order.
“Considering all the important decisions which the newly appointed Republican Leadership has to make, which we are all looking forward to, one of the first things the new Speaker Pro Tempore did was tell me to leave my office in the Capitol right away,” the statement read.
“This eviction is very different from what we usually do,” she said. “When I was Speaker, I offered former Speaker Hastert a much bigger suite of offices that he could use for as long as he wanted.”
Pelosi was not on Capitol Hill because she had to go to the funeral of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who passed away at the age of 90.
“Unfortunately, I can’t get my things back right now because I’m currently in California to mourn the death of and honor the memory of my dear friend Dianne Feinstein,” she stated.
According to a Pelosi spokesman, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York’s staff was assisting in moving her belongings out of the hidden office.
McCarthy was chosen in January to be the 55th speaker of the House. It took 216 votes to 210 to get rid of him.
