WASHINGTON — Longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-Y, said Wednesday he was dropping his bid to remain the top Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee for the next two years and endorsed Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who just announced two days ago he would challenge Nadler for the coveted job.
In a letter to Democratic colleagues, Nadler, 77, expressed support for Raskin, 61, for the role, which will be key to congressional oversight of the FBI and Justice Department under the incoming Trump administration . Nadler’s decision to withdraw clears the way for Raskin, who faces no other challengers.
“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 confident that Jamie will capably lead the Judiciary Committee as we tackle this growing threat. to cope,” Nadler wrote in the letter. “That is why I have decided not to run for membership of the Judiciary Committee in the 119th Congress.”
Nadler has held the top position on the judiciary panel since 2019 and has been a member of Congress since 1992. He has had some health problems in recent years, but was easily re-elected in November.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., had challenged Nadler for the Judiciary post.
“Although I will not be a Ranking Member, I will still be an active member of the committee, and I am eager to work with the new leadership in the fight to protect our most vulnerable communities and our most precious democratic ideals,” said Nadler.
The New York Times was the first to report that Nadler had dropped out of the race.
Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, was elected to Congress in 2016 and served as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee for the past two years. His move to the judiciary opens the race to lead Oversight; Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., has already announced a bid for that job, while other Oversight members, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DY, testing the waters. Connolly is 74, while Ocasio-Cortez is 35.
“For me, it’s not generational. It’s about experience, track record and capabilities, that’s how I have to present it,” Connolly told reporters, adding that he headed an Oversight subcommittee. “And she is a new talent and has a lot of promise, but I am the only one in the race … who actually has a subcommittee. I have invested in the committee. I think that is very important.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who has spoken to fellow lawmakers about a possible bid, said Wednesday she had nothing to announce: “I have received a lot of input from my colleagues and we will make a decision.”
She added that she has “huge respect and admiration for Gerry Connolly. … I love Gerry.”
Raskin is a rising star in the party. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appointed Raskin as Democrats’ lead prosecutor in the Trump impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack, then appointed him to the special committee charged with investigating the attack on the Capitol.
In 2022, he wrote a book, “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy,” in which he reflected on the suicide of his 25-year-old son on December 31, 2020, and the riot at the Capitol six days later.
“During the 119th Congress, the Judiciary Committee will be the headquarters of congressional opposition to authoritarianism and MAGA’s campaign to dismantle our constitutional system and the rule of law as we know it,” wrote Raskin, a two-time cancer survivor , this to his colleagues. week in which he announced his offer.
“I hope to be at the center of this fight and – as someone who has battled cancer and chemotherapy – I can tell you that I will never, ever surrender,” he said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
