Interim House Speaker Instructs Pelosi to Vacate Capitol Office

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Facts

• US Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is temporarily in charge of the House following a vote to vacate Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) speakership on Tuesday, has instructed former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to vacate her office in the Capitol building.¹
• Offices such as Pelosi's, known as hideaways, are private, unlisted rooms used by the most senior-level officials in Congress and traditionally reserved for senators. McHenry's office said the room would be 're-keyed' Wednesday.²
• Pelosi, currently in California to attend the funeral of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said she wouldn't be able to move her personal effects. According to one of her spokesmen, her belongings were moved out Tuesday with help from the staff of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).³
• House Republican leadership similarly instructed Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to leave his Capitol hideaway, though a Republican aide for the House Administration Committee, which oversees office spaces, told CNN this was not a request made by the committee.¹
• According to McCarthy, in January, Pelosi encouraged him to compromise with a small group of Republicans who were preventing him from securing the speakership, including allowing a single member to file a motion to vacate, which is how McCarthy was eventually removed.⁴
• He also claims that Pelosi promised to back him if such a motion was ever brought to the floor. While Pelosi wasn't present for Tuesday's vote, she said she would have voted against him.⁵

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Business Insider, ³FOX News, ⁴Daily Wire and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Guardian. Not only did McHenry break the long-held tradition and shared courtesy of retaining Pelosi's office for the former speaker, but he did so on a day the congresswoman was out of town mourning the death of a colleague. The GOP may enjoy petty disputes within its own party, but they shouldn't let this overflow into the personal lives of politicians on the other side.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Pj media. If Pelosi wants to talk about tradition, hideaway offices are traditionally given to a select number of high-level officials, which Pelosi no longer is. It's true that McHenry needs to get to work, which is why he removed an irrelevant politician from an office meant to be used by relevant leaders.