Nancy Pelosi faces growing challenges following a recent hip replacement surgery and a primary challenge from Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to AOC. Chakrabarti, citing Pelosi’s resistance to progressive leadership, argues America needs “real solutions.” Pelosi, who won reelection in 2022, has not confirmed if she’ll run in 2026,
Meanwhile, her husband, Paul Pelosi, made $38 million in stock trades, including major Apple and Nvidia sales, sparking renewed calls for congressional stock trading bans. He also invested in Tempus AI, whose stock surged after his involvement was disclosed. Pelosi continues recovering, expressing gratitude for medical staff who treated her abroad.
Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has announced that he will be challenging former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her House seat that she has held for over the past two decades.
In his post on X, Chakrabarti discussed his time spent with Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and how it helped prepare him for his run for Congress.
“After serving as her campaign manager and first chief of staff, I returned to San Francisco where for five years I’ve led a policy think tank that develops comprehensive solutions to the problems that both America and San Francisco face,” he wrote in a statement.
“Now, I want to bring those solutions to Congress. I’m going to run a very different kind of campaign than most. Instead of spending hours each day doing “call time” with big money donors — I’m going to spend every day talking with voters. I know! What a radical idea,” he stated.
He also said that his campaign would provide an “alternate version” to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s form of government.
“Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership,” he said.
“I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago,” Chakrabarti said in the statement.
“In an interview with Ezra Klein after Trump’s victory, Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree.”
However, Chakrabarti also admitted that the race would be a challenge as a political newcomer, at least in comparison to how long Pelosi has been involved in the world of politics.
“I know it might seem like it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings,” he wrote.
“Winning this campaign will require months of organizing…”
The challenger previously worked for Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders as well.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez has not commented on his announcement to enter the race.
