4:15Jonathan Karl engages in a conversation with Nancy Pelosi in Washington D.C., on December 18, 2025, for an interview on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” which will be broadcast on December 21, 2025.Al Drago/ABC
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi expresses strong belief that Democrats will regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms and that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will assume the speaker’s role.
“Hakeem Jeffries is prepared, he’s articulate, he’s held in high regard by his colleagues, and he is a unifying figure,” Pelosi told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl during a recent interview that aired on Sunday’s “This Week.”
“You have no doubt it will be Hakeem Jeffries?” Karl inquired.
“None whatsoever,” Pelosi replied.
The California Democrat, who stepped back from the party’s House leadership in November 2022, declared in November that she would not seek reelection in 2026. With approximately a year remaining in her term, the seasoned Democratic leader and the first female speaker of the House discussed her career with Karl in Washington, covering her interactions with President Donald Trump and offering guidance for the party’s future.
Jonathan Karl engages in a conversation with Nancy Pelosi in Washington D.C., on December 18, 2025, for an interview on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” set to air on December 21, 2025.Al Drago/ABC
Pelosi remarked that “when” Democrats reclaim the House, they must restore Congress’ authority, which she contends has essentially been surrendered to Trump by the current Republican-controlled Congress.
“At this moment, the Republicans in Congress have effectively nullified the Congress. They simply follow the president’s directives. That will come to an end,” Pelosi stated. “That will cease the moment we regain the gavel.”
However, regarding the possibility of initiating a third impeachment of Trump, Pelosi indicated it hinges on the president’s actions.
“I’ve told people that the one individual accountable for the impeachments of Donald Trump is Donald Trump himself. It’s not a decision made lightly – it hinges on the constitutional violations he commits,” she explained to Karl. “So it’s not something one can simply declare, ‘Oh, we’re going to impeach him.’ But you can wield the power of subpoena to obtain information from governmental agencies that are currently withholding it.”
When she first campaigned for Congress in 1987, Pelosi’s slogan was “Nancy Pelosi: A voice that will be heard.”
“It’s amusing, isn’t it? Isn’t it amusing that I would eventually become speaker of the House and, of course, my voice would be recognized, but I never anticipated that,” she pondered.
One of only 23 women in the House at the time of her election, Pelosi went on to make history as the first woman appointed as a party whip, the first woman to lead as minority leader, and in 2007, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, placing her third in line for the presidency.
“I never actually aimed to pursue leadership. That’s what’s so ironic about this because I thoroughly enjoyed my committees, appropriations, intelligence,” Pelosi shared with ABC News. “But we faced losses in ’94, ’96, ’98, and as we approached 2000, I realized, as a former party chair, I understood how to win elections. And I was simply tired of the defeats.”
As speaker, Pelosi played a crucial role in advancing historic legislation under President Barack Obama, including the Affordable Care Act, which she hopes will be her lasting legacy.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com