House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday avoided a question about whether she will serve a full two-year term in the next Congress as several Democrats prepare to step down from the caucus.
"What is this? Don't bother me with a question like that," Pelosi said at a news conference. "Really, really? OK. I said what I'm going to do. You know, those kinds of questions are such a waste of my time."
The questions come as she prepares to leave Democratic leadership in the next Congress.
In November, she won handily, securing her 18th full term in Congress by more than 65 percentage points. She was initially elected to the House in a special election in 1987. She then won her first full term the next year.
Pelosi has led the House Democrats for nearly two decades. During a floor speech last month, she said that she would step down from her leadership in the next Congress but will remain in the chamber as a rank-in-file member.
"This I will continue to do as a member of the House: speaking for the people of San Francisco, serving the great state of California and defending our Constitution," Pelosi said during her floor speech. "And with great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress."
Pelosi, 82, has been questioned whether she will serve the full term she just won or if she were to bow out to Congress, who would succeed her.
Last month, Politico reported that Pelosi's daughters Christine Pelosi, could succeed her, or possibly Sen. Scott Wiener, D-Calif.
Pelosi on Thursday noted her time as a Democrat was ending.
"And so, here we are, this may be the last time I see you in this way," she told reporters.
Pelosi was asked how she wanted her legacy to be remembered. She responded: "Nothing in any of the years that I was there compares to the Affordable Care Act."
Pelosi was speaker when then-President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. She played a crucial role in getting it passed through Congress.