WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland announced Monday that he will run to become the top Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee next year, joining fellow Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler directly challenges as the party prepares to battle a second Trump administration and an emboldened Republican majority.
“House Democrats must stand in the gap to defend the principles and institutions of constitutional democracy,” Raskin wrote in a letter to colleagues. “That is now our historic mission. We dare not fail.”
Raskin said in the letter – obtained by The Associated Press – that he decided to run for the post after spending a week consulting with House Democrats and “doing some serious introspection” about where the party is headed comes after last month’s stunning election defeat handed to Republicans. control of Congress and the White House.
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Although he is currently the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Raskin said that under his leadership the Judiciary Committee would become “the headquarters of congressional opposition to authoritarianism” next year, as well as other efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies for the Constitution.
Being the face of the resistance against Trump is not new territory for Raskin, who has spent the past two years at Oversight as the most outspoken defender of President Joe Biden and his family as they faced an expansive Republican investigation — encouraged by Trump — to their various affairs. business.
Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, also helped draft articles of impeachment against the new president on January 6, 2021 for his encouragement of the violent mob, and led the impeachment proceedings in the Senate.
But by throwing his hat into the ring, Raskin is provoking a bitter partisan battle with Nadler, who is currently serving his 17th term in Congress and has held the top spot in the judiciary since 2019. Democrats over the years have rarely broken from the seniority system for committee assignments, regardless of how long someone has held a position, making the outcome of the race uncertain.
Both men did not respond to requests for comment, but Raskin concluded his letter by praising Nadler and saying he made this decision “with respect and boundless admiration” for him.
“If I am fortunate enough to be chosen for this responsibility in the 119th Congress, I will turn first and foremost to Jerry for his ever-wise counsel and political judgment,” Raskin added.
