Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been ordered to vacate her office in the Capitol building by interim Speaker GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, according to an email viewed by CNN. The email stated that McHenry would be reassigning the office space for speaker office use and asked Pelosi to vacate the space the next day. Pelosi, who maintains her regular office in the Cannon House office building, said in a statement that she was not in Washington, DC, to immediately move her belongings. She explained that she was in California mourning the loss of her dear friend, Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female US senator in history.
Pelosi described the eviction as a sharp departure from tradition and pointed out that she had given former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished when she was Speaker. She added that while office space doesn’t matter to her, it seems to be important to the new Republican Leadership. Pelosi concluded her statement by expressing hope that the new leadership would focus on what’s truly important for the American people.
McHenry, as the speaker pro tempore, will preside over the vote and selection of the House’s next speaker. He has not yet commented on the eviction order. Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker, was required to submit a confidential list to the clerk of people “in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore in the case of a vacancy,” according to House rules. McHenry, a close ally of McCarthy, was the top name on that list.
CNN has reached out to McHenry for comment on the order.