Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will not seek reelection to the U.S. House, bringing to a close her storied career as not only the first woman in the speaker's office but arguably the most powerful in American politics.

Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House and one of the most powerful women in modern American politics, will retire from Congress next year.

“We’ve been told now for two days [by Chinese officials that there is no prohibition on freedom of speech in China,” Pelosi said after the incident, according to The Baltimore Sun.