Continuing a trend of retiring figures in the 119th Congress, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., announced that she will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives next year.

"I made a commitment years ago to always lead the charge on behalf of those I represent, and I believe I have fulfilled that commitment to the very best of my abilities. I have always stood on the front lines in the fight for principled progressive policies," Coleman said in a post on X. 

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"While I am not seeking re-election, there is still more to be done in my last year in public office. I absolutely intend to continue serving my constituents in the 12th District straight through to the last day of my term."

Coleman has represented New Jersey since 2015 and before that served the Garden State as a state legislator from 1998 until her arrival in Congress. She last won re-election in 2024 in a 61.2%-36.4% victory over Republican challenger Darius Mayfied. 

Even without the advantage of incumbency, Republicans are unlikely to capture New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.

Coleman, 80, is just the most recent lawmaker to announce retirements among Democrats, marking a changing tide in the composition of the party’s more senior membership. Her announcement follows that of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who, at age 85, similarly announced last week she would not pursue reelection in 2026. 

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Other notable Democrats leaving Congress next year include Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. — ages 80 and 78 respectively.

Questions about age have persisted on Capitol Hill as — across both parties — figures like Pelosi and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pose questions about how far legislators should push their public service. McConnell, who led Republicans as Senate Majority Leader, will also not pursue reelection. 

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Coleman said she believed she needed to step down to make way for new figures in the party.

"I believe now is the time to pass the torch to the next leader who will continue leading this charge," Coleman said.

Comedian Bill Maher and actress Cheryl Hines, the wife of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., agreed that the political left is intolerant of them even though they aren't conservatives during a conversation on Maher's "Club Random" podcast.

"I think it would be a tragedy, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the case, that you would lose jobs because this is, it’s funny, it’s a town that loves to romanticize the period in the ’50s when there was a blacklist. And as they should, because it was a terrible blacklist, but they have their own kind of blacklist now. It’s not like they aren’t sort of recapitulating that, when it was a witch hunt about communists, now it’s a witch hunt for people who aren’t woke enough. You know, it’s not like we’re conservatives," Maher said.

Maher spoke with Hines about how he was criticized by liberals for meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this year, despite his frequent attacks against him and his policies. They both reflected on how they are treated or received by Republicans vs. Democrats.

"I always say to my woke friends, we voted for the same person, you’re just why she lost," Maher said, referring to former Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Maher said the left wants to "cut you off." He argued that Trump yells at people, but said he doesn't want to cut them off.

"Well, that is true because, the Republicans have been very kind to me, from the beginning. Even from the beginning, when Bobby was running as a Democrat, they weren’t mean, and they never have been. And I can’t say that for the Democrats," Hines said.

Maher argued during the podcast that Republicans lack a "chip for compassion." He and Hines agreed they always felt compassion was the backbone of the Democratic Party, but it did not feel that way in its current state.

"It's sad, because it's not the Democrats we grew up with," Maher said.

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Maher also said during the conversation that he aligns with Democrats politically, especially on "preserving democracy" but on other issues, he said, liberals get under his skin.

He explained that while speaking to figures on the right, they often argue and clash, but come to a point where they agree to disagree, and they remain friends afterward.

"The left isn’t that way. They’re more like, ‘No, if you’re not with me, I f------ hate you, and you’re a deplorable, or you’re with the deplorables, or you’re talking to the deplorables, or you had dinner with Hitler or something.’ And it’s just like, you people are so, you’re such babies. You’re just not sophisticated people. To quote another show on our network: ‘You are not serious people.’ Serious people talk to each other, and they accept that you’re going to get to this point where you don’t agree," Maher said.

Maher was referring to a famous quote from media titan Logan Roy in HBO's "Succession," where he tells his children he loves them, but they are "not serious people."

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Hines has made headlines in recent weeks while promoting her new book, "Unscripted."

She spoke to the co-hosts of "The View" in October and was grilled on her husband's role in the Trump administration.