Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Longtime New York Democrat, Will Not Seek Re-election

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced he will not seek re-election next year, according to media reports, bringing to a close a 34-year tenure in the U.S. House.

Nadler, 78, told the New York Times that watching developments in the Democratic Party, including reactions to President Joe Biden, convinced him of "the necessity for generational change in the party," and prompted his decision to step aside. The announcement was first reported by multiple outlets Thursday.

A fixture of the House for more than three decades, Nadler emerged as a leading liberal voice on issues including civil liberties and judicial oversight. He served for years on the House Judiciary Committee and was its top Democrat for many sessions, though he relinquished committee leadership at the start of the current term after party colleagues coalesced around a younger contender.

Nadler has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and his administration, a relationship that has included public clashes dating back to the 1980s over Manhattan development projects. He also publicly condemned actions by the Trump administration after a congressional staff member was handcuffed during a security sweep of a congressional office, an episode that drew sharp rebuke from the lawmaker.

In explaining his decision to the New York Times, Nadler said he did not advocate a wholesale overhaul of Democratic leadership, adding that "a certain amount of change is very helpful," particularly when the party faces broader political and generational shifts.

Nadler's retirement will leave an open House seat in New York for the next election cycle. His exit concludes a career that spanned high-profile committee work and repeated interventions on constitutional and civil-rights matters. Colleagues and potential successors had not immediately made public statements about the coming vacancy as of the announcement.

Throughout his career, Nadler built a reputation as a persistent prosecutor of executive overreach and a defender of legal checks on power, roles that helped shape congressional scrutiny of administrations across multiple decades. His decision not to run again underscores a broader narrative within the Democratic Party about leadership renewal and the balance between experience and generational change.

Nadler’s choice to leave Congress follows a period in which several senior lawmakers have weighed retirement amid changing political dynamics and intra-party calls for new leadership. The seat he vacates is expected to attract significant attention from local and national Democrats as they prepare for the next campaign cycle.

Representatives for Nadler did not immediately release a timetable for his formal departure or outline plans for any farewell events. The lawmaker's announcement sets in motion a likely competitive primary in a district long represented by the veteran Democrat.