Is Nancy Pelosi Retiring? House Speaker Says Decision 'Affected' By Husband's Attack

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the brutal attack on her husband, Paul, will influence her political future after Tuesday's midterm elections.

In her first sit-down interview since the Oct. 28 incident, Pelosi was asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday if she has made a decision about whether to retire if the Republicans win the House.

The speaker said that her "decision will be affected by what happened the last week or two."

Pressed by Cooper if she was referring to the attack on her husband, Pelosi replied, "Yes."

Pelosi's 82-year-old husband was injured during a break-in at the couple's San Francisco, California, home in the early hours of Oct. 28. Authorities alleged that David DePape, 42, hit Paul over the head with a hammer, leaving him with skull fractures and other injuries.

Following the attack, Paul had surgery "to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands," Drew Hammill, a spokesman for the speaker of the House, said in an earlier statement. He was released from the hospital last week.

Pelosi revealed during the interview with Cooper how she learned of the attack. She said that on the day of the incident, she was asleep in her Washington, D.C., apartment when Capitol Police rang her doorbell and knocked on her door several times early in the morning. She recalled feeling "very scared" after finding police outside her home.

"And I'm thinking my children, my grandchildren. I never thought it would be Paul because, you know, I knew he wouldn't be out and about, shall we say. And so they came in. At that time, we didn't even know where he was," she told Cooper.

The speaker said she hasn't talked to Paul about what was going through his mind during the attack because revisiting the incident has been "really traumatizing."

Pelosi added that her husband is "doing OK" but is in for a "long haul" recovery.

Pelosi went on to condemn the conspiracy theories being pushed and how some Republican figures have reacted to the attack, calling them "traumatizing."

DePape was charged with six counts in connection with the attack, including attempted murder, burglary, assault, false imprisonment and threatening the family member of a public official. He has pleaded not guilty to all state charges.

Court documents revealed that DePape allegedly intended to take Pelosi hostage and possibly break "her kneecaps," CBS News reported.

The attack happened against the backdrop of the midterm elections as Democrats try to defend their slim majority in both houses of Congress.

Even before the attack on Pelosi's husband, a number of House Democrats expected: the speaker to step down from her post if they lose the majority on Tuesday, Politico reported.

The report said there have been discussions on Pelosi's potential successor, with New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries among the early favorites for the top caucus job.

On the eve of the election, RealClearPolitics' congressional ballot poll averages put Republicans ahead of Democrats by 3.5 points.