Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) broke ranks with her longtime colleague, retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), by endorsing a rival candidate over Hoyer’s handpicked successor, marking a potential final clash in their complex alliance.
Pelosi and Hoyer first crossed paths as Capitol Hill interns in the 1960s. Hoyer was elected to Congress in 1981 and Pelosi in 1987. By the late 1990s, the two began vying for leadership roles, with Pelosi defeating Hoyer in 2001 to become the House minority whip.
‘I’m beyond honored to have her support in this campaign.’
Despite previously heaping praise on Pelosi, Hoyer suggested that he would have won if Pelosi “hadn’t been a woman or from California.”
“Gender and geography in this case were overwhelming. C’est la guerre,” he said.
In 2006, Pelosi snubbed Hoyer by backing his opponent for majority leader, but Hoyer won despite her lack of support.
Hoyer then spent two decades as one of the highest-ranking House Democrats, second only to Pelosi.
RELATED: Nancy Pelosi announces retirement after nearly 4 decades in Congress
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Hoyer, 86, announced his retirement in January as a representative for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District after serving 23 terms. He endorsed his former campaign manager Adrian Boafo as his successor.
Instead of announcing her support for Boafo in the packed congressional race, Pelosi seized the opportunity to use her endorsement to seemingly pay back former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who was credited with protecting her on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pelosi announced her endorsement of Dunn on Wednesday, stating, “My friend Harry Dunn is a true American hero and exactly the right person to represent Maryland in Congress.”
She claimed that he “bravely defended our democracy from Donald Trump’s violent MAGA mob. Since then, Harry’s been called to do everything he can to protect Marylanders and all Americans from extremists like Donald Trump.”
“Few leaders have done more to defend our democracy and stand up to Donald Trump than Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi,” Dunn stated in reaction to Pelosi’s endorsement. “Her leadership helped deliver historic progress for the American people. I’m beyond honored to have her support in this campaign.”
Pelosi, who has also announced her retirement, will end her term in January 2027. She previously backed Dunn in his failed 2024 congressional run for Maryland’s 3rd District.
RELATED: Harry Dunn’s account of January 6 does not add up. At all.
Harry Dunn, Nancy Pelosi. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Dunn gained prominence for his testimony about defending the Capitol on Jan. 6. However, a Blaze News investigation found that Dunn gave false and conflicting statements on the witness stand concerning his interaction with a group of Oath Keepers. His testimony ultimately led to their imprisonment.
Dunn, who has since retired from the U.S. Capitol Police, has used his platform since Jan. 6 to publish a memoir, run for political office, and establish a political action committee named Dunn’s Democracy Defenders, which aims to fund Democrat candidates to defeat President Donald Trump, who Dunn has claimed is a threat to democracy.
“The outrageous truth is that Dunn’s lies are easily disprovable by anyone who examines the evidence. Far from the hero he portrays himself to be, when he was not hiding on January 6, 2021, Dunn was needlessly and recklessly screaming at and otherwise confronting protesters who posed no threat to him, violating official protocols and procedures. Other officers repeatedly had to intervene to calm him down,” Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker wrote in a 2023 analysis of Dunn’s account of Jan. 6.
“It is unfortunate that the media is celebrating the many lies in Dunn’s book, but the real tragedy is that this unstable man’s testimony in a federal trial was instrumental in the conviction and sentencing of several Americans to years in federal prison,” Baker added.
Maryland’s congressional primary race is scheduled for June 23, and the general election is November 3.
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