Nancy Pelosi snaps at reporter for asking simple question: 'Such a waste of my time'

Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi snapped at a reporter on Thursday for daring to ask whether she intends to serve out her full term in Congress.

At Pelosi's weekly press conference, the reporter simply asked her whether she will "commit to serving your full two‑year term for the people of San Francisco." The top House Democrat, however, clearly disliked the question.

"What is this? What is this? Don't bother me with a question like that. Really? Really?" she snapped.

"I said what I'm going to do. You know, those kind of questions are such a waste of my time," she complained.

The question came after other reporters asked Pelosi to reflect on her legacy in House Democratic leadership.

She responded:

Nothing in any of the years that I was there compares to the Affordable Care Act, expanding health care to tens of millions more Americans and 150 million families having better benefits, lower costs, and no preexisting condition risking their access and no lifetime limits— being a woman no longer a preexisting condition. So that really was central because it's a health issue, it's an economic issue, a financial health issue for families, and it's a values issue for our country. So that, for me, was the highlight.

Still, it's not clear why Pelosi responded the way she did when asked about her vocational intentions.

The question, after all, was completely fair. Last month, Pelosi won reelection to serve her 18th consecutive full term in the House of Representatives. But at the same time, she is stepping down as leader of the House Democrats, a position she will have held for two decades.

Few members of congressional leadership voluntarily step down from power while maintaining their seats in Congress.

After House Democrats elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as their new leader, Pelosi was honored with the designation "Speaker Emerita."

"Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi is the most consequential Speaker in American history and I am humbled by the opportunity to recognize her as Speaker Emerita," Jeffries said last month.

"This honorific reflects Speaker Pelosi's lifetime of service as a legendary legislator, notorious negotiator and a fabulous facilitator. Our Caucus and our country are better off for her leadership, without question, and this title is but a small token of our gratitude," he added.