Acting Speaker Orders Pelosi To Vacate Her Office: ‘The Room Will Be Re-Keyed’

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Mere hours after taking over as speaker pro tempore with the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) ordered former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to vacate her office by Wednesday.

“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” an email sent to Pelosi’s office viewed by Politico stated. The email added that the room will be used “for speaker office use.”

Pelosi is currently using a hideaway office, which only a handful of members receive. Given that she is speaker emerita, McCarthy allowed Pelosi to occupy the space. McHenry, who is a McCarthy ally, is clearly less keen on it.

She slammed the move, calling it “a sharp departure from tradition.”

Pelosi may have some difficulty leaving the office by tomorrow, as Pelosi is in San Francisco attending memorial services for her friend and former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who died last week.

“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,” said Pelosi, who missed Tuesday’s vote in which McCarthy was ousted.

Eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats to vote to remove McCarthy after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) submitted a motion to vacate the chair, which triggered a vote of the full House.