Pelosi says she would have retired if Clinton had been elected

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, sees the Affordable Care Act as the centerpiece of her political legacy. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, sees the Affordable Care Act as the centerpiece of her political legacy. Photo: Sipa USA, TNS Photo: Sipa USA, TNS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Pelosi says she would have retired if Clinton had been elected 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday that she would have retired if Hillary Clinton had been elected president and ensured the future of the Affordable Care Act, which the San Francisco Democrat sees as the centerpiece of her political legacy.

“If Hillary had won, I was ready to go home,” Pelosi told reporters after a breakfast interview in Washington, D.C. “The Affordable Care Act would have been protected ... so if she were there, I would not worry about that.”

But Donald Trump’s shocking victory left Republicans in control of both Congress and the White House, giving the GOP a long-awaited chance to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s landmark health insurance law.

And for the 76-year-old Pelosi, who was first elected to Congress in 1986, that meant it was back to the barricades for an all-out battle to save the law opponents called Obamacare.

Trump’s victory “motivated me to stay,” Pelosi said.

It wasn’t the first time the former House speaker had wistfully talked of her plans after what most pundits — and even more Democrats — had seen as an easy Clinton victory.

Politico reported that Pelosi told top Democratic lawmakers at a Feb. 15 meeting that she was only staying in office to defend the health care measure she shepherded through Congress in 2010.

“If Hillary had won, (Pelosi) probably would have been offered the ambassadorship to Rome and lived happily ever after,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told the political news site.

But even after a surprisingly strong — though ultimately unsuccessful — postelection challenge from House Democrats looking for changes in their leadership, Pelosi is thinking more about fighting Trump and House Republicans than heading home to San Francisco.

While she wouldn’t commit Friday to another run for party leadership in 2018, Pelosi also didn’t say retirement is in her plans.

“I’m one day to the next,” the congresswoman said. “I’ll make a decision when time.”

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth