Washington A former professor of constitutional law, Rep. Jamie Raskin said Monday that he would run against Rep. Jerry Nadler for the top Democratic position on the influential Judiciary Committee. Raskin was the Democrats’ chief prosecutor in the Trump impeachment proceedings following the Jan. 6 attack.
Nadler, 77, of New York, has been in Congress since 1992, has been the leading member of the Judiciary panel since 2019, and has experienced several health scares recently. Despite being 61 years old, Raskin’s daring challenge to Nadler is another illustration of how a new generation of Democratic stars is challenging the party’s seniority structure and the establishment after the 2024 elections were a disappointment.
Raskin, of Maryland, a cancer survivor who also served on the special House committee that looked into the Jan. 6 attack, wrote in a letter to colleagues Monday that the Judiciary Committee will serve as the focal point of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism and MAGA’s campaign to destroy our Constitutional system and the rule of law as we know it in the 119th Congress.
As someone who has fought cancer and chemotherapy, I can assure you that I will never, ever give up,” he added. “I hope to be at the center of this struggle.”
Raskin, the current ranking member of the Oversight Committee, also praised Nadler, who is seeking a fourth term as the head of the Judiciary panel for Democrats, in his three-page letter.
Finally, I would like to state that I take this action with the utmost respect and admiration for my friend Jerry Nadler and his incredible fifty years of service in Congress and New York public office. In the event that I am selected for this role in the 119th Congress,” Raskin wrote, “I will go to Jerry first and foremost for his consistently astute advice and political acumen.
Raskin is hardly the only Democrat to declare a challenge to a longstanding committee head this year; he was elected to the House in 2016. In his own letter on Monday, Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva informed colleagues that it was time for him to step down as the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, following the announcement by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., that he would run against the 76-year-old.
After announcing a cancer diagnosis in April, Grijalva, who has been a member of Congress since 2003, had been absent from votes for a number of months. In 2012, 60-year-old Huffman was elected to Congress.
Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., are competing to replace longstanding representative David Scott, D-Ga., who is 79 years old and has long struggled with health concerns, in a campaign for the top spot on the Agriculture Committee.
Next week, the whole Democratic Caucus is set to hear recommendations from the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which is closely aligned with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., about the selection of top Democrats for each committee in the upcoming Congress. A final vote would then be taken by the caucus.
Over the past two election cycles, passing the torch has emerged as a recurring motif for Democrats. The three octogenarians who had led Democrats for about 20 years—Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn—passed the torch to a new, younger generation of leaders after House Democrats lost their majority in the 2022 midterm elections: Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
Naturally, the most significant torch was carried this summer when members of his own party urged another octogenarian, President Joe Biden, to resign as the Democratic presidential nominee due to age concerns. Kamala Harris, his 60-year-old vice president, took his place on the ballot but was soundly defeated by Donald Trump, the 78-year-old oldest president ever elected.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!