Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said the newly named interim speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building.
She does maintain her regular office in the Cannon House office building.
An email sent from McHenry’s office to Pelosi’s office just after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening that was viewed by CNN, stated, “Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow.”
Pelosi said in a statement that she was not in Washington, DC, to immediately move her belongings.
“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 California Democrat said. “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.”
Feinstein, whose three decades in the Senate made her the longest-serving female US senator in history, died last week at age 90 following months of declining health. She will lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday ahead of funeral services Thursday.
Pelosi added in her statement that the “eviction is a sharp departure from tradition,” saying: “As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”
“Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them,” she 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.”
CNN has reached out to McHenry for comment.
As speaker pro tempore, McHenry’s official title, the congressman will preside over the vote and selection of the House’s next speaker, with the ability to recess the chamber, adjourn it and recognize speaker nominations.
Kevin McCarthy as speaker was required to submit a confidential list to the clerk of people “in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore in the case of a vacancy,” according to House rules. McHenry, a strong ally of McCarthy, was the top name on that list.
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