The interim House speaker’s initial action was to instruct Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to vacate her hideaway office, which she had declined to leave during the previous speaker’s tenure.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) lost his position as speaker on Tuesday as a result of the combined efforts of eight Republicans and 208 Democrats who voted to remove him. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) took on the role of speaker temporarily and subsequently issued an order for Pelosi to vacate her office hours later.
According to Politico, McHenry sent Pelosi an email saying, “Please vacate the space tomorrow; the room will be re-keyed.” The email conveyed that the office would be designated for “speaker office use.”
1st order of business, House Speaker pro-tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., evicted Pelosi from her Capitol hideaway office, a luxury only a few receive.
Sometimes, it's just the small things. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/iSbXSkoAMo— 🇺🇸 ❤️ 𝓟𝓔𝓒𝓐𝓝💃C8🚗 🇺🇸 (@PecanC8) October 4, 2023
Pelosi vehemently criticized the order in a statement released by her office, saying, “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.”
The statement continued, “This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition. As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”
Capitol hideaways are a common feature in the Senate, while in the House, they are a privilege reserved for a limited number of members.
Pelosi was absent from Capitol Hill to attend the funeral of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away at the age of 90.
She said in her statement, “Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time.”
A spokesperson for Pelosi stated that the staff of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was assisting in relocating Pelosi’s belongings from the concealed office.
McCarthy assumed the role of the 55th speaker of the House in January but was removed from the position by a vote of 216 to 210.
A group of eight House Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), joined all House Democrats in voting to oust McCarthy from the speakership. Pelosi did not participate in the vote.
