WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who served as Democrats’ lead prosecutor in Trump’s impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack, told colleagues Monday that he will challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler for the top Democratic position in the powerhouse . Judicial Committee.
Nadler, 77, of New York, has held the top job on the judiciary panel since 2019, has been in Congress since 1992 and has had some health problems in recent years. Although Raskin is 61 years old, his bold challenge to Nadler is yet another example of a new generation of Democratic stars taking on the old guard — and the party’s seniority system — after disappointing losses in the 2024 election.
“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,” said Raskin of Maryland, a cancer survivor who also was a member of the A special committee of the House of Representatives investigating the January 6 attack, wrote in a letter to colleagues on Monday.
“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 continued.
In his three-page letter, Raskin, the current member of the Oversight Committee, also praised Nadler, who is running for his fourth term as leader of Democrats on the Judiciary panel.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., during a 2019 hearing.
“Finally, I must say that I take this step with respect and boundless admiration for my friend Jerry Nadler and his remarkable half-century of service in public office in New York and Congress. … If I am fortunate enough to be elected to this responsibility in the 119th Congress,” Raskin wrote, “I will turn first and foremost to Jerry for his ever-wise counsel and political judgment.”
Raskin, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, is not the only Democrat to announce a challenge to a former committee leader this year. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona told his colleagues in his own letter Monday that it was time to “pass the torch” as the leading Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, after Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., announced he would do so . challenge the 76-year-old for the job.
Grijalva, who has been in Congress since 2003, had not missed a vote for months after announcing his cancer diagnosis in April. Huffman, 60, was elected to Congress in 2012.
A race is also brewing for the top position on the Agriculture Committee, with Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., vying to unseat longtime Rep. David Scott, D-Ga. is 79 years old and has been struggling with health problems for years.
The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which is closely aligned with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is expected to make recommendations to the full Democratic Caucus next week on which members should serve as the top Democrats on each committee in the next Congress. . The caucus would then take a final vote.
For Democrats, passing the torch has become a common theme over the past two election cycles. After Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn – the trio of octogenarians who had led Democrats for about two decades – passed the baton to a new, younger generation of leaders: Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
Of course, the biggest torch was passed this summer when President Joe Biden, also an octogenarian, was pressured by members of his own party to resign as Democratic presidential candidate over concerns about his age. His 60-year-old vice president, Kamala Harris, replaced him in the vote but lost decisively to Donald Trump, who at 78 is the oldest person elected president.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
