Nancy Pelosi kicked out of US Capitol office so ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy can have it
- The coveted hideaway offices have historically been used by powerful lawmakers as spaces for plotting, naps, card games and – allegedly – more personal business
- Democrat Steny Hoyer, Pelosi’s long-time No 2, also got the boot from his own unofficial digs in the building
The power grabs that play out in the corridors of Wall Street and at Hollywood studios are showing up in Congress as the ousting of Kevin McCarthy prompts a reshuffle of some prime office space in the US Capitol.
No speaker has before been voted out of office, and questions abound about what’s next. But one thing was immediately clear, at least to interim speaker Patrick McHenry: McCarthy has rights to a first-floor speaker emeritus hideaway occupied by his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.
The usually affable North Carolina Republican, inflamed by the ouster of his long-time political ally, swiftly evicted Pelosi from the unmarked room. Steny Hoyer, Pelosi’s long-time No 2, also got the boot from his own unofficial digs in the Capitol.
The quick moves by McHenry, who essentially is serving a caretaker role until the House elects a new speaker, underscore that these rooms – which predate the actual House office buildings across the street – remain coveted property.
They are the spaces inside the US Capitol for political plotting, naps, card games and rumoured other, more personal business, found behind nondescript, unmarked doors as hideaways for powerful lawmakers.