The powerful former speaker of the House suggested the Democrats could have fared better if the president stood down as candidate sooner.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in portions of a New York Times podcast interview published Friday, blamed Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss on President Joe Biden's late exit from the presidential race and the lack of Democratic primary.

Pelosi was among the top Democratic officials who pushed the 81-year-old president to step aside after his disastrous debate performance this summer.

Republicans inched toward a House of Representatives majority as more races were decided in their favor, and Democrats looked to pick up key races to tighten the match.