Nancy Pelosi's Biggest Controversies Over The Years

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Although Nancy Pelosi was 85 when she announced that she was on track to retire by 2027, the world was still shocked to hear the news. After all, Pelosi broke the glass ceiling, while the longtime house speaker also overcame numerous obstacles to have a decades-long career in congress. Of course, all of her achievements were inconsequential to Trump, as he reacted to the Democratic leader's retirement just as bitterly as you would expect. While speaking to reporters in the White House, in November 2025, the president opined that Pelosi had done America a huge favor by choosing to retire, stating, "I thought she was an evil woman who did a poor job, who cost the country a lot in damages and in reputation. I thought she was terrible," (via ABC News). 

Meanwhile, fellow outspoken Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene did a complete 180 on her past views on the house speaker, telling CNN that very same month that she had tremendous admiration for Pelosi's contributions to her party. Greene's views were surprisingly aligned with Former President Barack Obama's, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to sing her praises, enthusing, "No one was more skilled at bringing people together and getting legislation passed." 

Although Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson did give Pelosi some credit for her work during a press conference, he largely ignored that she was likely retiring because of her age. Instead, Johnson speculated that it was a sign Dems were shedding their old ways to become even more left-leaning. Ultimately, the mixed reactions to the house speaker's departure from congress were a testament to her political career, which was filled with highs, lows, and plenty of controversy.

In July 2024, an anonymous lawmaker disclosed to NBC News that Nancy Pelosi was at least "50%" responsible for the behind the scenes push to get Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential elections. The house speaker played it smartly and didn't publicly express her lack of confidence in Joe following his debate against Donald Trump since Pelosi knew a direct move could easily compel him to stand his ground out of pure stubbornness. Instead, she reportedly made good use of the contacts she had made over her decades in politics, including prominent donors and well-established Democrats, to secretly trigger the push. 

A few days prior to that story, CNN insiders revealed that the California congresswoman had a meeting with the then-president to show him polling data that indicated Joe couldn't possibly clinch a win against Trump. Although she also cautioned him that his loss could have dire consequences for the Democratic Party, Joe reportedly stood his ground and informed her that some other polling data had shown that he could emerge victorious. 

After Kamala Harris ultimately lost, Pelosi took a direct hit at her former boss, pointing out to the New York Times, "Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race." Given all this, it's unsurprising Jill Biden took aim at Pelosi while she prepared to leave DC behind. During an interview with the Washington Post, in January 2025, the former first lady even used the past tense while referring to her long-standing friendship with Pelosi, confessing, "We were friends for 50 years. It was disappointing."

Nancy Pelosi is worth far more than you would expect, chiefly thanks to her investments. By Quiver Quantitative's estimate, the Democratic leader and her husband, Paul Pelosi, had amassed well over $200 million by 2025. What makes that eye-popping number even more interesting is the New York Post's November 2025 report, which revealed that the couple had a net worth of $3 million before she even took office. Back in those days, Nancy and Paul's stock portfolio was reportedly worth between $610,000 and $785,000. However, by 2025, its value had risen by a whopping 16,930%, to $133.7 million. 

Those numbers obviously did not go unnoticed by President Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social in August 2025 to allege that the Pelosis had made their money through insider trading. After expressing disbelief at how "[those] two very average 'minds'" had managed to outdo long-standing hedge fund institutions with their returns, Trump wondered aloud why there was no legal probe against the couple for their supposedly nefarious business practices. Similarly, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters in July 2025 that lawmakers had to consider banning certain members of congress from stock trading partially because of Nancy and Paul's gains. 

Leavitt also couldn't understand how the house speaker had a multi-million-dollar net worth, despite a yearly salary of $174,000. Despite all the heat, Nancy remained unmoved, dismissing the insider trading allegations as ludicrous in an August 2025 chat with CNN. Moreover, she had total confidence in the investments her husband had made. In addition to confirming that she was in favor of the stock trading ban on congress members, Nancy also quipped that Trump may be "projecting" with his accusations. 

Everyone was talking about Nancy Pelosi's hair salon visit in 2020 for all the wrong reasons. In September, Fox News released CCTV footage that showed the house speaker violating state COVID-19 guidelines by not having a mask on while inside a California hairdresser. Worse, according to California laws, the business was only allowed to cater to clients outdoors, on the day after Pelosi's visit. The hair salon's owner, Erica Kious, admitted to Fox News that she was infuriated by how the Democratic politician had used her influence at a time when ordinary people struggled to make ends meet due to pandemic restrictions. 

Naturally, Kious was also shocked that a huge mask proponent like Pelosi failed to wear one when it mattered. However, in a statement, the politician's spokesman claimed that the business had scheduled her to come in the day before they were officially permitted to open, arguing that they could comfortably cater to one customer while still staying in line with protocols. He also insisted Pelosi "always wears a mask and complies with local COVID requirements." It's worth noting that the security footage showed a salon employee masked up. Of course, that statement did nothing to fend off attacks from Republicans. 

In his tweet on X about the incident, President Donald Trump vowed to have Pelosi fired. Meanwhile, his then-press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, played the salon's security footage on a loop during her daily press briefing. Of course, the California representative also had to deal with a slew of critiques from Fox News anchors. Despite everything, though, Pelosi professed to reporters that her visit to the salon "was clearly a setup," which she felt the business ought to apologize for, per NBC News.

Nancy Pelosi has made several eyebrow-raising remarks about a group of up-and-coming stars in the Democratic Party, colloquially dubbed "The Squad," over the years. While speaking at the London School of Economics, in April 2019, the house speaker praised Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political prowess before proceeding to downplay the victory that made her the youngest woman to ever be elected to congress. Pelosi scoffed that a "glass of water" could have clinched a win in the staunchly Democratic districts that she and Ocasio-Cortez ran from, per Newsweek. Then, when the outspoken politician chatted with Susan Page for her 2021 book, "Madam Speaker," she seemed infuriated by how The Squad's four founding members voted against an immigration bill Pelosi had supported. 

However, the house speaker publicly played it cool, telling the New York Times that the fact The Squad couldn't get anyone else on side proved that they had no real sway in congress. Meanwhile, Pelosi reasoned to Page that certain politicians only got elected to congress in the first place "to pose for holy pictures." Then, she adopted a rather petulant voice to apparently mock the young women, snarking, "See how perfect I am and how pure?" 

As for AOC, she told the Washington Post in June 2019 that she initially let Pelosi's jabs slide, assuming they were intended to appease moderate Democrats. The New York congresswoman continued, "But the persistent singling out . . . it got to a point where it was just outright disrespectful . . . the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color."

Depending on who you ask, Nancy Pelosi's behavior at Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address was either hugely inappropriate or totally iconic. The Democratic leader gave the divisive politician a sarcastic clap when he made an ironic remark urging his fellow politicians to stop indulging in bad faith tactics that were solely intended to spite their colleagues, and instead to prioritize their country's well-being. Worse, it didn't seem like Trump realized that she wasn't clapping earnestly because he thanked her twice. Once the president concluded his speech, the house speaker ripped up a copy of it while several other politicians audibly clapped and cheered.

VIDEO: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips up Trump #StateOfTheUnion remarks in stunning scene after conclusion of address. pic.twitter.com/UDDPriahe5

— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) February 5, 2020

As expected, the move didn't sit well with Republicans, including Texas Representative Kelly Granger, who sponsored a resolution to strongly condemn Pelosi for her actions. In a press release, she proclaimed that the senior Democrat should have put her dislike for the president on the backburner during the address since she was there as a representative for the People's House. Meanwhile, then-Florida Representative Matt Gaetz similarly took to X to announce that he was lodging a formal complaint against Pelosi for an ethical violation. 

According to the since disgraced politician, "Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071)." However, legal experts clarified to Politifact that no ethical violation had occurred. Unsurprisingly, nothing came of the complaint. Even worse, the public announcement prompted social media commentators to point out the most scandalous things that have come out about Gaetz. As for Granger, her resolution was tabled, with Pelosi emerging relatively unscathed.