For Nancy Pelosi, good-bye Congress. Hello, Pelosi Democracy Institute

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

June 29, 2026, 8:02 a.m. ET


Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is retiring from Congress but not retiring from politics. The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy is being launched in January at the University of California, Berkeley, the university announced June 29. The institute will sponsor research, support summer internships, host an annual forum "for global thought leaders" and offer undergraduate classes.

Here's one of them: a course on Congress co-taught by political science professor Eric Schickler and Pelosi.

Still 'making the fight'

"I have, shall we say, no power right now," with President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the House, Pelosi told USA TODAY in an interview in December. "I'll have less when I'm not in Congress, but that doesn't mean I'm without influence. There are many people outside the Congress, including I .... who can be making the fight."

The first woman (and the first Californian) to serve as speaker of the House, Pelosi played a crucial role in enacting the Affordable Care Act, responding to the financial meltdown of 2008 and opposing the Iraq War. Many historians and politicians view her as the most powerful woman in the history of the United States.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/29/nancy-pelosi-democracy-institute-berkeley/90729718007/

[sheshe2]

1. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi.

What an amazing career. As a woman you broke many glass ceilings, and I thank you for your powerful leadership.

Carry on.

[kimbutgar]

2. In the SF Presidio there is a Nancy Pelosi parklet that has awesome views !

[ShazamIam]

3. I will remember how successfully she managed the Democratic Congressional Caucus.

During the late 90s and early 2000s I wasn't able to pay much attention to politics and when I began to tune back in I remember the radio conservatives were screaming and ranting about, Nancy Pelosi, so naturally I had to find out who she was. (I heard them when I visited my sister because her husband was a big fan of Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, ugg!)
I did find out about her and while I live in CA and even lived in the Bay Area for several years, I never lived in her district. I would have been happy to vote for her.

[kimbutgar]

4. During the first reign of the orange DICKtator

I was walking downtown on Market street during a protest against the orange minsters and she was also matching in low high heels. It was easily a mile and she walked the whole way!

[ShazamIam]

7. Still high energy and in her mid 80s is going to leave Congress not to retire but to teach a class at U.C. Berkeley.

[Prairie Gates]

5. Oy vey

[hamsterjill]

6. What a force!

Nancy was someone to contend with during her terms. She has guts and brawn, and I still loved it when she tore the hell outta that stupid speech!!!

Wish her well in the next chapter.

[Cha]

8. This is really good news! Nancy Pelosi is

a Force of Nature!

What a brilliant legacy she's built over the Decades!

TY BRDS! ☮️💙 🌻🕯️🕊️