Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina on Tuesday showed that in his world, being acting speaker of the House means taking action.
McHenry sent former Speaker Nancy Pelosi literally packing as he ordered her to leave the private office space she has in the Capitol, according to Politico.
The action was one of the first he took after he became speaker in the aftermath of the vote that removed California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, according to Fox News.
And fumigated. https://t.co/INyQ50caqW
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) October 4, 2023
The message was delivered by email, Politico wrote.
“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” the email from the House Administration Committee stated.
The room was being reassigned, the email stated, “for speaker office use.”
Nancy Pelosi evicted from her private office in the Capitol by interim House speakerhttps://t.co/CXNHHtCc2I pic.twitter.com/hJrKCnP3gU
— Real Hamlet Garcia (@Hamletgarcia17) October 4, 2023
Politico noted that few House members have hideaway offices in the Capitol itself.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ staff accomplished the move, a representative of Pelosi’s office said.
In a statement, according to Politico, Pelosi criticized her forced departure as “a sharp departure from tradition,” claiming she gave Speaker Dennis Hastert “a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished” when she assumed the post.
Pelosi has been in California, saying she needed to be there to attend the funeral for the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.
“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,” she said in the statement, according to Politico.
UPDATE: Picture Tonight Outside of former Speaker Pelosi’s Office.. Her staff is actually moving her out of the Speakers Office she refused to vacate as Demanded by the Temporary Speaker..
I can’t stop laughing.. #NoSquatters https://t.co/5iXFxaWjX5 pic.twitter.com/ODIF4R9r7Y
— Matt Couch (@RealMattCouch) October 4, 2023
The office shuffle that accompanied McCarthy’s ouster was one of many issues to resolve as Congress moves forward after the historic vote that toppled McCarthy.
On Tuesday night, The Washington Post reported that McCarthy was seen leaving the speaker’s office carrying a box.
McCarthy told GOP members of the House that he would not seek to regain the post, according to Politico.
Although the House had been scheduled to be in session to consider budget bills this week, Politico reported that the House would not be in session this week.
