Speaker pro tempore orders Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer to leave their Capitol offices

10/09/2023 / By Belle Carter

Acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who will function as the Congress’ presiding officer for a very limited time, has ordered ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to vacate their offices at the Capitol building.

The U.S. House of Representatives, for the first time in its history, has booted its speaker out of the job with a 216-210 vote. Upon taking over, Kevin McCarthy’s McHenry ally, ordered the eviction.

Reuters reported that the acting speaker’s duties are vague. “That person may exercise such authorities of the office of the speaker as may be necessary and appropriate pending the election of a speaker or speaker pro tempore,” a guide to the chamber’s rules and procedures stated.

According to Pelosi, she was ordered to immediately vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday, Oct. 4. She received the email on Tuesday, Oct. 3, saying the room would be re-keyed and reassigned for “speaker use,” Politico first reported. Moreover, Hoyer’s spokesperson also said that his boss had also been asked to leave his private office.

“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 said in a statement, referring to McHenry. Pelosi had two separate stints as speaker of the House, first from 2007 to 2011 and then again from 2019 to 2023. “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,” she added.

Republican representative accuses McCarthy of being behind eviction of Pelosi from private office

GOP Rep. Garret Graves (R-La) told reporters on Wednesday that McCarthy was behind McHenry’s move to kick Pelosi and Hoyer out of their office spaces. He said that the ousted speaker is getting the office that McHenry has ordered Pelosi to vacate. “Look, the deal is that the office that Pelosi is in right now is the office of the preceding speaker. Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats determined that they wanted a new … speaker, and it’s Kevin McCarthy. So, he’s getting the office,” he said.

CNN reported that sources close to Pelosi and Hoyer say it was retaliation for Democrats siding against McCarthy in voting to vacate the speaker’s chair Tuesday. The unofficial offices are located near the House floor. Pelosi gets to maintain her regular office in the Longworth House office building. Graves then put the blame on Democrats for voting McCarthy out of office. “I don’t know what they are complaining about,” he said. “They created this situation.”

Meanwhile, as speaker pro tempore, McHenry will preside over the voting and selection of the House’s next speaker, with the ability to recess the chamber, adjourn it and recognize speaker nominations. Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2024, endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan on Truth Social just after midnight on Friday. Trump had been in talks to visit Capitol Hill next week, most likely for that candidate forum, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity before an official announcement. (Related: The Zelenko Report: Congress needs a strong and fearless House speaker, says Ivan Raiklin – Brighteon.TV.)

Visit VoteRepublican.news for updates on the incoming speakership election in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.