Fact check: Nancy Pelosi is still in office, not 'kicked out' by Democrats

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Democrats removed Nancy Pelosi from office

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is often the target of online misinformation. One recent case is a Facebook video that claims she has been removed from office by her fellow Democrats.

“NEW! Congress ERUPTS as House Democrats KICKS (sic) Nancy Pelosi from Office,” reads the Sept. 27 Facebook video's title. The video was viewed more than 50,000 times in two days.

Another version of this video was viewed more than 30,000 times before it was deleted.

But this claim is false. Numerous sources prove Pelosi is still an active member of Congress. The Facebook video provides no evidence to support its claim.

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USA TODAY reached out to the user who made the claim for comment.

Array of evidence shows Pelosi is still in office

Pelosi is still listed as the speaker on the House of Representatives website. There is also no mention of her alleged ousting on the House Democrats' website.

On top of that, Pelosi's spokesman released statements on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29 identifying her as the speaker, and C-SPAN footage shows her presiding in the House on the morning of Sept. 29, two days after the Facebook post was published.

If Pelosi were to be expelled from Congress, the House would need to achieve a two-thirds majority vote, according to the House’s website. There is no evidence any proceedings resembling this process have begun.

Only five members of Congress have ever been expelled.

The Facebook video does not provide any evidence to support the claim that Pelosi has been ousted from Congress. Instead, it consists of two unrelated clips. The first clip shows a TV host talking about Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters, while the second shows conservative commentator Ben Shapiro talking about a comment Pelosi made about former President Donald Trump.

This isn’t the first time claims about Pelosi’s supposed exit from Congress have surfaced. Previous posts have falsely claimed the Supreme Court voted to remove her from office and that Trump filed an “impeachment lawsuit” against her.

Fact check: Donald Trump did not, cannot file 'impeachment lawsuit' against Nancy Pelosi

USA TODAY reached out to Pelosi’s team for comment.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Democrats removed Pelosi from office. There is no evidence to support the claim, and numerous sources prove she remains in Congress.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No, Nancy Pelosi was not removed from office by Democrats