House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday that the recent attack on her husband Paul will impact her decision on whether to retire from Congress if Republicans take control of the House.
In a sit-down interview on CNN's "AC360," Pelosi told Anderson Cooper that her decision "will be affected about what happened the last week or two."
The Speaker's comments come after her husband was hit with a hammer last month by a man who broke into the couple's San Francisco residence. She was in Washington, D.C. when the attack happened.
According to authorities, David DePape broke into the home through a glass door on October 28 and hit Paul Pelosi on the head with a hammer after the two men struggled for the tool. DePape was reportedly looking for the Speaker.
Paul Pelosi was taken to a hospital after the attack and underwent successful surgery to treat a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. He was released from the hospital last week but remains under the care of doctors.
DePape faces multiple state and federal charges, including attempted murder of an immediate family member of a U.S. official and attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official. He is being held without bail.
The Speaker's interview was aired a day before the midterm elections, which will determine if she is forced to give up the gavel in the House. Republicans are predicted to win control of the lower chamber of Congress.
NANCY PELOSI HUSBAND ATTACK: WHO IS DAVID DEPAPE, SUSPECTED PAUL PELOSI ASSAILANT?
Pelosi had told her party in 2018 that she would give up her role as Speaker at the end of her current term, but some Democrats are skeptical that she will follow through on that promise in the event that they hold on to the House following Tuesday's elections.
She also explained in her interview with Cooper how she learned of the attack on her husband.
"I was sleeping in Washington, D.C., I had just gotten in the night before from San Francisco, and I hear the doorbell ring and think, it’s five something, I look up I see it’s five, it must be the wrong apartment. No. It rings again and then bang, bang, bang, bang, bang on the door," Pelosi said.
"So I run to the door, and I was very scared, I see the Capitol Police, and they said, ‘we have to come in to talk to you’ and I’m thinking my children, my grandchildren, I never thought it would be Paul because he wouldn’t be out and about," she continued.
Pelosi said police initially did not know of her husband's condition when they briefed her on the incident.
