Nancy Pelosi jets back to Washington after recovering from broken hip
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has jetted back to Washington, DC, just over three weeks after getting hip replacement surgery as Democrats hope for maximum attendance in the speakership contest on Friday.
In what appears to be her first public appearance since falling down marble steps of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg and breaking her hip, Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, filmed a brief message of gratitude to voters ahead of her plane ride.
“Hi, it’s Nancy, I’m on my way to Washington, DC to proudly represent the people of San Francisco and share our San Francisco values in the Congress of the United States,” the nineteen-term Democrat said in a clip shared by her team.
Pelosi looked tired in the clip but conveyed determination as she began the trek back to the nation’s capital from the Golden State.
Her return to Washington comes as Democratic leadership is hoping for robust attendance on their side to avoid giving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) any help in his arduous path to holding onto the gavel in the 119th Congress.
When the House has full attendance the magic number to become speaker is 218. Based on the expected attendance, Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican. Already Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has opposed him and several others have said they are on the fence.
Lower attendance and members voting “present” would give Johnson a little more wiggle room. But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has publicly stated that his party won’t help bail Johnson out this time, particularly after the most recent spending fight.
Video of Pelosi on the plane that was shared by her team left very few clues about the exact state of her condition, including how mobile she is.
Pelosi suffered a nasty fall Dec. 13, while participating in a US delegation trip to Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in the tiny country nestled between France, Germany and Belgium.
“I was right next to her. She likes to wear high heels — very high. She was on one of her last steps on this marble staircase that didn’t have a railing and she lost her footing and fell to the ground,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) later recounted.
Right after the tumble, McCaul helped get Pelosi to her feet. She then posed for a group photo of the delegation, holding McCaul’s hand tightly and placing her left hand over her left hip, seemingly trying to mask pain.
From there, Pelosi was rushed off to the hospital and went through a successful hip replacement operation, according to her team.
The House of Representatives had gone on recess just over a week after the incident, so Pelosi had not been seen in the Capitol after her injury.
Still, she continued to leverage her pronounced influence over House Democrats and reportedly worked the phones to back Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) over progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to serve as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.
Pelosi has served in the lower chamber since 1987.