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Dec 24, 2025

Top Democrat Who Led Trump Impeachment Won’t Seek Re-Election-llllllllllllllll

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the longest-serving New Yorker in the House, announced he will not run for reelection in 2026, citing the need for “generational change” within the party.

In an interview with The New York Times published Monday, Nadler said Biden’s 2024 withdrawal after a bruising debate with Trump reinforced his decision, adding that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”

“I’m not saying we should change over the entire party,” Nadler told the outlet. “But I think a certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism.”

Democrats routinely call President Trump a “fascist” and “authoritarian,” but he has constantly run up against federal court rulings that have curbed many of his initiatives, though several of those rulings have been labeled as constitutionally suspect by Republicans.

For Nadler’s part, he did not say who he wanted to succeed him, only that his decision not to seek reelection “has not been easy.”

“But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation,” he said.

“I don’t know what the future beyond 2026 holds, but I plan to stay fully engaged in the community that is my home and in the causes that I’ve championed throughout my life,” Nadler continued. “My plans for the next sixteen months, however, are clear. I will continue to give everything I have to defend our democracy, protect our institutions, and fight for the values that as Americans and New Yorkers we share.”

Nadler, 78, was first elected in 1992 and served as House Judiciary Committee chair from 2019 to 2023 before becoming ranking member. A manager in Trump’s first impeachment, he announced in December 2024 he would step down after Rep. Jamie Raskin mounted a challenge for his post.

He was also facing a primary challenge from 26-year-old Liam Elkind.

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