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Published : 08 Feb 2026, 01:42 AM
Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to endorse Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F Kennedy, in his bid for a hotly contested House seat in New York City.
According to a report by The New York Times, the veteran strategist and prolific fundraiser will officially throw her weight behind the 33-year-old on Sunday.
The move marks a significant boost for Schlossberg as he seeks to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District, an affluent Manhattan constituency encompassing landmarks such as Central Park and the United Nations.
Pelosi, who is due to retire from Congress next January, described the current political climate as a "consequential moment" where "faith in politics is fractured”.
In a statement obtained by the Times, she asserted that Schlossberg’s candidacy would "help Democrats win nationwide”.
Speaking to the Times, Schlossberg, the son of former US ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, called Pelosi a "hero”, likening the endorsement to a "shot of adrenaline”.
Schlossberg, who is also the cousin of US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, entered the race in November following the announced retirement of veteran representative Jerry Nadler. However, his path to Washington is far from uncontested.
He faces a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls, including Micah Lasher, a state assemblyman and long-time confidant of Nadler, who has already received the incumbent's endorsement.
Other contenders include Alex Bores, a New York State Assembly member, Jami Floyd, a prominent broadcast journalist, and George Conway, the high-profile lawyer and critic of Donald Trump.
Nadler has previously been dismissive of Schlossberg’s ambitions, remarking in September that a successor should have a "record of public accomplishment”, suggesting the 33-year-old "doesn’t have one”.
Though Pelosi typically avoids primary interference, this is not her first time backing a Kennedy. In 2020, she supported Joseph P Kennedy III in his unsuccessful Senate bid in Massachusetts.
