OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized for an evaluation after suffering an injury on a trip to Luxembourg.
“While traveling with a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation,” Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager said in a statement.
“Speaker Emerita Pelosi is currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals. She continues to work,” Krager added in the statement.
#BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi hospitalized in Luxembourg after sustaining injury https://t.co/vfKqOE7I3z
— The Hill (@thehill) December 13, 2024
Following Democrats’ crushing defeat in the 2024 elections, calls are mounting for Pelosi to resign.
During an interview on Fox News with host Neil Cavuto, Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien called on Pelosi and New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer to step aside after Republicans won back the White House and Senate and kept control of the House.
“I think that they lost — they lost touch with the working class people. It was clearly evident in the election results. And look, this was an economic election. I mean, we still have a lot of our members, we still have a lot of working class Americans that are hurt, and they felt the struggle at the pump, they felt the struggle at the grocery store. And instead of embracing and trying to find a solution to the problem, the Democrats took a position that their opinion mattered. And that’s all that mattered. And they wanted to talk down to a lot of working class people. You know, social issues are important. But at the end of the day, it’s putting food on the table, being able to afford a home. And despite, you know, the rhetoric of this is the best economy ever, you know, it really hasn’t been. So that’s what I believe came down to as an economic decision on this election,” O’Brien said.
Cavuto asked: “We’re told a majority — I’m sorry, Sean — we’re told the majority of your members favor Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. I don’t know the full details there. I do know that when you had the opportunity to endorse a candidate or your leadership that you chose not to this year, and that alone sent reverberations around the political world. Do you regret now, not endorsing Donald Trump outright?”
“No, we don’t have any regrets on the process that we went through. You know, the polling that we did was extensive. Obviously, it went towards President Trump, but we still got a large contingency that are still Democrat, vote Democrats. So that decision we made as a general executive board, and I’ll stand by it. The good news is, is that, you know, the Democrats have an opportunity to refocus and try and reclaim why they lost the working class. And the Republicans have been saying all along, they want to be the working class people. So it’s a great opportunity for both sides, especially the Republican to approve that. We’ve got a lot of issues that we need to get resolved in this country. And, you know, we’ve got to do it,” O’Brien declared.
O’Brien continued: “I think looking back now if they had to look back and assess, and hopefully the finger-pointing will stop and the assessment will happen, I think they’ll look back and say, we should have had one of the most powerful labor organizations represented the Democratic National Convention because the message would have been the same.”
Cavuto rounded out the conversation by asking O’Brien about the future of the Democratic Party.
“Working people is one thing. Going woke is another. The big rap you hear against Democrats, Sean, is that they were so woke and so focused on issues that your members didn’t care about, that your members had it and said enough of these guys. Are you at that stage with Democrats?” Cavuto asked.
“The stage I’m at with the Democrats is, look, this whole election has proven it was — it was an economic election. You know, there’s a lot of social issues out there that, you know, need to be addressed, or they hedged their bet too much on these social issues. Look, at the end of the day, a lot of these issues are important, but what’s more important is, you know, provide an opportunity for your family, putting food on the table, saving some money and living the American dream,” O’Brien said.
“So they’ve got a lot of — they’ve got a lot of soul searching to do. And look, I said this earlier today in another interview that, you know, the Democrat Party needs to take a look in the mirror and say, ‘You know, maybe Chuck Schumer’s time is over. Maybe Pelosi’s time is over. Let’s figure out who’s going to be the best for the party.’ And look, as an organization, we’re always looking at how do we lead this organization better than we found it. I think that needs to be the focus,” O’Brien added.
O’Brien concluded, “Look, we all have pensions for a reason. That’s to use them and retire and enjoy your life. Maybe they should take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and step aside.”
WATCH:
Last month, Pelosi filed for re-election in 2026.
After securing a 20th term last week, the 84-year-old submitted a statement of candidacy to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. The documents are an early sign of Pelosi’s plans for the next election, but a representative for the lawmaker refuses to confirm if she is seeking reelection.
