NC congressman evicts Rep. Nancy Pelosi from honorary office

CHARLOTTE — As the new interim speaker of the house, one of the first things that Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina did was evict Rep. Nancy Pelosi from her large Capitol office.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District is limited in what he can do in his temporary speaker role. According to the Associated Press, one of McHenry’s first acts was to oust Pelosi from an honorary office while she was in California to pay tribute to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away last week.

Pelosi had a “hideaway office,” which is a private unmarked space in the Capitol that is typically reserved for leaders in the House, according to ABC News. Pelosi had been allowed to keep one because she is a former speaker.

In a statement sent to ABC and AP, Pelosi said: “With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol. Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time ... This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition. As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”

Rep. McHenry is serving as the acting speaker in the U.S. House after Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the position in a historic move Tuesday.

McHenry, 48, grew up in the Charlotte area and attended North Carolina State University and Belmont Abbey College. In 2004, he was first elected to the 10th Congressional District, which covers Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Polk, and Rutherford counties, along with parts of Catawba, Iredell, and Buncombe counties.

As speaker pro tem, McHenry will preside over the vote to select a new speaker of the house.

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