Who is Nancy Pelosi’s controversial husband, Paul Pelosi? The former US Speaker of the House’s partner of 61 years survived a brutal hammer attack the same year he was convicted of a DUI

Nov 9 , 2024

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, have been married since 1963. Photo: AP

Donald Trump saw fit to mock Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul after he was attacked at home by an intruder on the campaign trail, though the venture capitalist has courted controversy himself

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is one of the most prominent and influential Democratic politicians in the US. She has been widely credited with persuading President Joe Biden not to seek re-election, paving the way for Kamala Harris to lead the Democrats.

Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi at the 23rd Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, Washington, in 2022. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Pelosi’s husband Paul, meanwhile, found his name in the political ring after years of remaining in the background of his wife’s powerful ascent in Washington.

Paul Pelosi at the portrait unveiling ceremony for his wife Nancy, Speaker of the House, in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, Washington, in 2022. Photo: AP

Two years ago, at the age of 82, he was attacked in his San Francisco home by a hammer-wielding intruder who claimed to be looking for his wife. Paul suffered critical injuries that required emergency surgery. In September this year, Donald Trump made light of the attack.

Here is everything you need to know about Paul Pelosi.

What happened when Paul Pelosi was attacked in 2022?

David DePape (left) and Paul Pelosi wrestle with a hammer in October 2022. Photo: San Francisco Police Department/AFP

On October 28, 2022, Paul was attacked by Canadian David DePape, who left him with severe head and arm injuries. Per CBS, Nancy said that when DePape entered their home, he kept asking Paul, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?”

Paul somehow managed to call the police and when officers arrived they found the two men wrestling over the hammer. Paul was taken to hospital, with Nancy describing the extent of his wounds in a later interview. “What they had to do was they had to take off the skull, reshape it, put it back so it didn’t scratch or pierce the brain,” she said. “It’s pretty – it’s a pretty serious operation … [there is] always concern, the hematomas, all the rest of that.”

David DePape, who bludgeoned Paul Pelosi with a hammer, pictured in Berkeley, California, in 2013. Photo: San Francisco Chronicle/AP

After being arrested, DePape said he had planned to attack Nancy in an attempt to force her to admit that the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Biden, was an orchestrated theft. Trump and his Maga stalwarts have repeated the false narrative that the election was “stolen”.

DePape was convicted and sentenced to 20 years behind bars for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for assault of a family member of a federal official. A separate trial has since sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.