As has been mostly expected, Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will not seek reelection next year, leaving San Francisco's House seat open for the first time in 40 years.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi indicated she would not be making any announcements until after the election, but today is the day. At age 85, she says she will be ending her career in Congress 40 years after she began it, in January 2027. She'll be just shy of 87 when that day comes.

Pelosi made her Thursday morning announcement via a well produced video featuring shots of the city of San Francisco, both in the present day and through its history, addressing her words to the people of San Francisco.

"I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress, and I have always honored the song of St. Francis, ‘Lord make an instrument of thy peace,’ the anthem of our city. That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know. I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” Pelosi says.

“With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative. As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history. We have made progress. We have always led the way, and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our Democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”

Pelosi added, "I say to my colleagues in the House all of the time, no matter what title they had bestowed upon me – speaker, leader, whip – there has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco.’”

Both Bay Area News Group and the Chronicle have published photo collections commemorating Pelosi's long career.

Governor Gavin Newsom posted to Xitter Thursday saying, "Nancy Pelosi has inspired generations. Her courage and conviction to San Francisco, California, and our nation has set the standard for what public service should be. Her impact on this nation is unmatched. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Wishing you the best in this new chapter-you've more than earned it."

Pelosi's announcement ends months of speculation about her plans, with some wondering whether she would follow in the footsteps of longtime friend Dianne Feinstein and seek to stay in Congress as she neared 90 years old. But given his previous deference to Pelosi, state Senator Scott Wiener's anncouncement two weeks ago that he would be running for her seat was a fairly clear indication that she had confirmed her retirement plan, at least to him. Wiener had, for at least two years, said he would not announce a run for Congress until Pelosi retired.

Nancy Pelosi was the first female Speaker of the House in US history, first taking the gavel in 2007, and to date the only one. And she is a living legend in the Democratic Party, known for her ability to whip votes and for never having lost a House vote as Speaker.

CNN quotes her saying, in a 2018 interview, that while she knew she got called names behind her back and in conservative circles, she didn't care. "If you’re effective as a woman, then they have to undermine you, because that’s a real threat," she said.

Pelosi was elected to the speakership for a non-consecutive term in 2019, coinciding with the midterm election during Trump's first term — and she did that infamous tearing up of his State of the Union speech while sitting behind him in February 2020. In November 2022, after being elected to her 19th term in the House, she announced that she would not be seeking the speakership again, passing the gavel to Hakeem Jeffries.

This was not long after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked inside their Pacific Heights home by a mentally unhinged, politically motivated zealot who had hoped to find her at home.

Pelosi was largely credited with giving the final push to discourage President Joe Biden not to run for reelection, believing he could not win — and after a decades-long friendship with the Bidens, the situation created a clear rift between them.

Speculation about her possible retirement grew louder last year after Pelosi was hospitalized following a "hard fall" while she was on a trip in Luxembourg.

Pelosi's video announcement ends with her saying, "San Francisco is the greatest city on earth, with the most extraordinary people on earth, and a place that I will always believe is heaven on earth. Thank you, San Francisco, for trusting me to be your voice in Congress."