After 40 years in Congress, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has revealed what comes next. Pelosi has announced the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy at University of California, Berkeley, which the school described as a “nonpartisan” academic center set to open in January 2027.During her speakership in 2009, House Democrats achieved an all-time congressional record for party-line voting.”I viewed this as a liberation for me from the political, not politics, but partisanship,” Pelosi, 86, told CNN in an article published Monday. “Because you’re going to an academic institution. It’s about what our founders had in mind with our Constitution, and it’s a beautiful story to tell.”The institute will sit inside Berkeley’s political science department, focusing on research, civic engagement, and training future leaders, according to UC Berkeley. Pelosi is slated to co-teach a course on Congress beginning in spring 2027, while the institute will also run a visiting fellows program and an annual forum for prominent leaders.Pelosi agreed to personally raise $25 million toward the school’s broader $50 million campaign — a target she said she hit “quite easily.”Pelosi said the idea of a bipartisan academic center particularly intrigued her. “I loved it because they talked about human rights in the U.S. and in the world, addressing the challenges to our democracy, the climate, and economic income inequity,” she said of Berkeley’s pitch.Pelosi, who was first elected to Congress in 1987 and became speaker 20 years later, has been no stranger to squeezing out members of her own party who stepped out of line. In 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accused Pelosi of “singling out newly elected women of color,” calling her treatment of the progressive “Squad” “outright disrespectful.”RELATED: The man who propelled Ocasio-Cortez into Congress fails SPECTACULARLY in race for Pelosi’s seat MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty ImagesOn one of the rare issues with real bipartisan momentum in recent years — banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks — Pelosi first opposed the idea and was later only lukewarm toward it, even as scrutiny mounted over her husband’s frequent stock trades during her tenure as speaker.Her most notable legislative achievement, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, passed the House without a single Republican vote. Pelosi reportedly dismissed a more bipartisan version of the bill as “Kiddie Care,” pushing for the more sweeping, partisan version that ultimately passed 219-212.Pelosi’s clash with Trump produced one of the most viral partisan moments of his presidency when she tore up her copy of his 2020 State of the Union address on camera, calling it “a manifesto of mistruths.”During her speakership in 2009, House Democrats achieved an all-time congressional record for party-line voting — sticking together 94.2% of the time, a hallmark not of compromise but of caucus control. GovTrack’s most recent report card found she introduced fewer bills than anyone in the California delegation, and in 2016, joined bipartisan legislation less frequently than any other House Democrat. GovTrack notes, however, that party leaders often post unusual scores given the nature of their role.Even in the same CNN interview announcing her “liberation” from partisanship, Pelosi couldn’t resist a parting partisan shot, declaring unprompted that Democrats are “going to win the House” in November.The institute is set to launch in January 2027, with a public exhibit on Pelosi’s career opening at the Bancroft Library that spring.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
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