In one of his first moves as speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) ordered former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), to “immediately” vacate her hideaway office in the Capitol by Wednesday.
While lawmakers who are not in leadership don’t usually have offices in the Capitol, Pelosi, as former speaker, was allowed to keep one.
In a statement, Pelosi said “this eviction is a sharp departure from tradition” and noted that, when she was speaker, she gave former speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) “a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”
Pelosi said office space “doesn’t matter” to her, “but it seems to be important to them.”
“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,” Pelosi said. “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.”
McHenry’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
As of Tuesday night, it was unclear which office spaces McHenry and McCarthy would occupy, given the speed of McCarthy’s ouster — and McHenry’s appointment.
After the vote to remove him was over, McCarthy marched back to the speaker’s office, which is next to the Rotunda.
An hour or so later, McHenry made his way there, too.
Later that night, McCarthy was seen walking out of the speaker’s office, and the Capitol building, with a box under his arm.
[Credit: Washington Post]
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