Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a bold prediction in her interview with ABC News on Sunday. She told anchor Jonathan Karl that the Democratic Party will regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
Pelosi made her prediction during an interview on ABC News's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. She also expressed confidence that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will ultimately become Speaker, taking over for current Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, if her party succeeds.
When asked about the likelihood of Jeffries assuming the speaker's gavel after the 2026 midterms, Pelosi said she has "none" of the doubts that Democrats will retake the House and that Jeffries is prepared to lead. At present, Republicans hold control of the House with a slim 220 seats to the Democrats' 215.
It seems Pelosi's prediction is in tune with polling of American voters as President Donald Trump's first year into his second term comes to an end. Polling for the 2026 House elections indicates that Democratic candidates have a modest edge, with several major pollsters showing Democrats ahead of Republicans by varying margins.
A November Gallup poll also has Trump's approval rating at a new low of 36% and disapproval rating at 60%. Multiple Republicans in the House, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have also announced that they will not be running for re-election.
In her interview, Pelosi was also critical of the current Republican-led Congress, asserting that the institution has ceded too much authority to Trump and needs to be reclaimed. "Right now, the Republicans in the Congress have abolished the Congress. They just do what the president insists that they do," Pelosi said, adding that a Democratic majority would restore legislative independence.
Pelosi, who stepped down from House leadership in 2022, announced last month that she would not seek reelection as a Representative from California and plans to retire after the current term ends in early 2027. She was also asked about the possible third impeachment of the President and expressed doubts that it would happen.
She told Karl, "I've said to people, the one person who was responsible for the impeachments of Donald Trump is Donald Trump. It's not something you decide to do – it's what violation of the Constitution he engages in. So that's not something you say, 'Oh, we're gonna impeach him.' But you can have the power of subpoena to get information from these agencies of government who are not supplying any information now."
