Representative Jerrold Nadler plans to step down as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee next term, succumbing to calls for generational change as his party prepares to confront a second Trump administration.
Mr. Nadler, the 77-year-old dean of New York’s congressional delegation, had been facing a direct challenge from a close ally, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland. Mr. Raskin, 61, was said to have secured the votes necessary to defeat him.
The transition would represent a significant departure for House Democrats, who have traditionally awarded coveted committee leadership jobs based primarily on seniority. After November’s losses, though, many in the party have argued that President-elect Donald J. Trump’s return to power would require a younger, more dynamic crop of leaders.
Furious over being challenged, Mr. Nadler had initially fought to hold the position he has held since 2017. But on Wednesday, he conceded that he did not have a path to victory and endorsed Mr. Raskin to replace him in a letter to colleagues.
“As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” Mr. Nadler wrote.
“Therefore,” he continued, “I have decided not to run for ranking member of the Judiciary Committee in the 119th Congress.”
Mr. Nadler called Mr. Raskin and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, to inform them of his decision, according to an aide.
He follows Representative Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona, 76, who announced this week that he would step down as the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee as he faced a challenge from a younger colleague, Representative Jared Huffman of California, 60. Two Democrats are challenging Representative David Scott, Democrat of Georgia, 79, to the senior spot on the Agriculture Committee.
In clearing the way at Judiciary, Mr. Nadler also effectively opened up the top Democratic slot on the Oversight Committee, which Mr. Raskin now occupies. Representative Gerald E. Connolly of Virginia, 74, has already formally entered the race, but he may soon face a challenge from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who at 35 is less than half his age.
People close to Mr. Nadler said had been deeply hurt by the push to replace him. A 17-term lawmaker from Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Mr. Nadler has long been a leading liberal voice in the House on issues including gay rights and surveillance powers. He won the top Democratic seat on the Judiciary Committee in 2017, after decades of toiling, and played a role in two impeachments of Mr. Trump in 2019 and 2021.
But Mr. Nadler had never been known as a particularly sharp strategist, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi sidelined him from key parts of the impeachment fight. Many of his colleagues had begun quietly fretting that Mr. Nadler was not up to the task this time. He often reads from written remarks during committee meetings and has been known to fall asleep in meetings.
With a broad jurisdiction, the Judiciary Committee is likely to be at the center of some of Washington’s largest fights next year, including Mr. Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, overhaul the Justice Department and any attempt by Republicans to curtail abortion rights.
Mr. Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, was himself a close ally of Mr. Nadler in the past and is widely beloved among House Democrats. First elected in 2016, he rapidly made his name as a silver-tongued antagonist to Mr. Trump, serving as the lead impeachment prosecutor against Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He also served on the special House committee set up to investigate the attack.
Mr. Raskin announced his challenge to Mr. Nadler on Monday after fellow Democrats, including Ms. Pelosi, encouraged him to run. In a letter, Mr. Raskin said he would turn the Judiciary Committee into “the headquarters of congressional opposition to authoritarianism.”
He also said he had “boundless admiration” for Mr. Nadler.
Scott M. Stringer, a longtime confidant to Mr. Nadler who is now considering a run for mayor of New York City, suggested that his fellow New Yorker had been mistreated. He also noted that Mr. Nadler was not leaving Congress entirely and would continue to serve as a rank-and-file member of the House.
“We used to eat our young, and now we’re eating our old,” Mr. Stringer said. “It does not bode well for the future of the party. This is not a winning formula.”
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