Patrick McHenry makes first move as speaker by booting Pelosi from hideaway

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) made his first move as House speaker pro tempore by ordering former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday.

Pelosi was asked to leave the space in an email obtained by Politico sent to her office on Tuesday night.

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“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” wrote a top aide on the GOP-controlled House Administration Committee. The room is going to be reassigned by the acting speaker “for speaker office use,” per the email.

Pelosi said she is “unable to retrieve my belongings at this time” as she is in California paying tribute to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who died on Friday at the age of 90. The California representative called the eviction order from McHenry a “sharp departure from tradition.”

“As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished,” Pelosi said in a statement via Axios. “Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people.”

Pelosi was absent for Tuesday’s vote to vacate the speakership, brought forward by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Lawmakers voted 216-210 to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his position after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in a historic rebuke to GOP leadership, leaving the House at a standstill until lawmakers can elect a new speaker.

The Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy included Gaetz and Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Ken Buck (R-CO), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Nancy Mace (R-SC).

McHenry was selected as speaker pro tempore off a list provided by McCarthy that was not shared prior to the vote. A source told the Washington Examiner that McHenry wants to have a candidate forum next Tuesday and an election for speaker that Wednesday.

House Democrats held a heavy hand in the vote, with the party voting together as a conference to oust McCarthy. Several party members said ahead of the vote they weren’t interested in helping Republicans sort out their intraparty tensions, and they cited a deep mistrust of McCarthy as part of that decision.

“We’re not here to keep Kevin McCarthy in power. This is their problem,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said Tuesday prior to the vote.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) released a statement on ousting McCarthy shortly after the vote, calling it a “solemn moment for the country and the House of Representatives.”

“House Democrats will continue to put people over politics and work together in a bipartisan way to make life better for everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “It is our hope that traditional Republicans will walk away from MAGA extremism and join us in partnership for the good of the country.”