Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is heading back to Washington following hip replacement surgery in the wake of a fall in Europe last month.
Pelosi, 84, shared a video on her X account on Thursday as she made her way back to the nation’s capital.
‘Hi it’s Nancy. I’m on my way to Washington to proudly represent the people of San Francisco in Congress,’ Pelosi says to the camera while sitting in an airplane.
Pelosi is returning to the U.S. Capitol for the new 119th Congress which begins on Friday after she suffered a fall during a trip to Luxembourg just before the holidays.
She said in the video that she’s honored to return to ‘share our San Francisco values. Thank you for giving me that honor.’
The California Democrat has remained largely out of the public eye as she recovered from surgery following her fall.
The former speaker took the nasty tumble on a marble staircase and was rushed to hospital on Friday, December 13.
Her spokesperson revealed in a statement that weekend that she was then taken to Germany and underwent successful hip replacement surgery.
It was not clear at the time when she would be able to make the trip home to the U.S. from Europe.
She was still recovering as lawmakers wrapped up their final activities before heading home for the holidays.
Since then, Pelosi has been out of the public spotlight. She phoned in for a television interview to remember late President Jimmy Carter after he passed away over the holidays.
At Christmas she also released a video message on social media thanking people for their prayers and good wishes.
‘Now more than ever I am determined that health care is available to all Americans,’ she said speaking directly to the camera.
After her fall in Europe, an image of Pelosi went viral online which showed her standing minutes after taking the tumble.
In it, she can be seen smiling as she stood in a pair of stilettos in the front row of the group of lawmakers, but she appeared to have a death-grip on her colleague’s hand.
That colleague, Congressman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) told reporters in Washington days later that he believed her sky-high heals were to blame.
He recalled her being on the last step of a marble staircase without a railing when she lost her footing and went down. He said he helped her up and that’s when they took the photo before she was taken to the hospital.
It remains to be seen whether the spill will lead to the former speaker swapping out the stilettos she’s been known to wear as she wheels and deals in Washington for more reliable footwear in the new year.