Paul Pelosi faces ‘long recovery process’ after hammer attack
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faces a “long recovery” and will likely be out of action for the next six months, one of her colleagues told CNN Wednesday.
“Nancy is probably gonna be out for the next six, maybe a year,” a Democratic aide familiar with Pelosi’s condition told CNN. The aide added that she would likely need at least a month to recover her vision and mobility.
Pelosi’s office confirmed she had been struck in the head by a hammer on Thursday at a local event in San Francisco. The attack was initially reported by the Hill, citing “sources close to Nancy Pelosi.”
Pelosi later clarified the attack wasn’t in San Francisco, and said she was visiting a private home in Washington, D.C.
“Yesterday, I was on Capitol Hill and then I was at a fundraiser at a private home on Capitol Hill (Washington) where a woman I know called me and told me she had just been hit on the head with a piece of concrete and that I should come over right away,” she said in the statement.
“I jumped into my car and drove immediately to the hospital. I suffered a concussion and some cuts and bruises. For the next four days, I did not leave my hospital room. I made sure that this was the last thing I said publicly about this terrible event.”
Related video: Democrats demand answers after Florida congressman struck by GOP protester
The statement made no mention of the man who hit Pelosi, but added: “As the person most directly attacked, Nancy Pelosi has been through a profoundly difficult and emotional time over the past week.”
The woman who called 911 said she had come to Pelosi’s house to “say hi” because she is a constituent of her.
CNN reported that authorities are “not releasing the identity of the person who allegedly swung the hammer at Rep. Pelosi.”
‘I think it was a mistake’
The attack on Pelosi comes as her party has been in political turmoil after the midterm elections were largely decided by Democrats.
Pelosi has been the House Democratic leader since early 2005, first under President Bill Clinton and later under President Barack Obama. She was named the next speaker following the 2018 midterms.
The California Democrat is a staunch supporter of her party’s agenda and was criticized by Republicans in the aftermath of the 2018 midterm elections, when Republicans took control of the House.