Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), 78, has declared that he will not seek reelection next year — and that he plans to step aside in an effort to allow for younger Democrats to step into leadership positions.
As reported on Monday by The New York Times, Nadler said that watching former President Joe Biden over the last several years had moved him to consider making way for the next generation of leaders.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler explained, saying that he hoped the next person to fill his seat “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”
With 34 years in Congress, Nadler is both the longest-serving New Yorker and the longest-serving Jewish member of the U.S. House — and he claimed that he was a bit uncertain about bowing out at first because he believed he still needed to fight against President Donald Trump — but the writing may have been on the wall long before Nadler was willing to read it.
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The New York Rep. recently lost his leadership position in the House Judiciary Committee at the beginning of the current Congress when the party shifted its focus toward younger leaders — and he was expected to face a primary in his home district, likely from a number of candidates who are younger and more progressive than he is.
Nadler was involved in both Trump impeachment attempts — in 2019 and 2021 — helping to lead the former.
The news of Nadler’s retirement comes in the wake of a new congressional map in Texas that may net Republicans as many as five additional seats — and as several other states move to change their maps as well, either in retaliation to or in an effort to supplement Texas’ actions.
Nadler’s exit will not likely change the balance in Congress, however, since his district covers a large swath of Manhattan and is considered to be a safely blue district.
