US Representative Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democrat from Manhattan who played a major role in both impeachments of US President Donald Trump, will not seek reelection in 2026 after holding his seat for 34 years, The New York Times reported Monday, citing an interview with Nadler.
His office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to confirm the report.
Nadler, 78, a liberal voice in Congress since 1992, said he believed it was time for a younger generation of Democrats to emerge. He is the most senior Jewish Member of the House of Representatives.
Questions surrounding leadership age and generational change rocked the Democrats in 2024, when then-president Joe Biden, at 81, stepped down late in the American presidential campaign amid concerns about his age.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the Times.
Without naming names, he suggested to the Times that some of his Democratic colleagues should also consider retirement.
“I’m not saying we should change over the entire party,” Nadler said in the interview. “But I think a certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism.”
A 26-year-old, Liam Elkind, had already announced his intention to challenge Nadler in next year’s primary. Nadler’s withdrawal could attract other contenders.
His solidly Democratic district includes some of New York City’s most exclusive addresses along each side of Central Park and influential financial institutions and corporate headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
Before redistricting, he represented the downtown area around the World Trade Center in 2001 at the time of the September 11 attacks.
Nadler, a veteran pro-Israel voice, has backed Israel’s right to defend itself in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and massacre, but has become sharply critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he accuses of prolonging the ensuing war for political reasons.
In a June speech to the House of Representatives, he said, “It is clear to me that we long ago reached the point where victory is no longer the goal, and the main obstacle to bringing the hostages [held by Hamas] home and ending the war is the politics of one man: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Nadler has backed New York Democrat mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, despite the latter’s staunch condemnations of Israel and embrace of much of the rhetoric of the pro-Palestinian left.
As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Nadler served as an impeachment manager in the first attempt to remove Trump from office in 2019 over accusations that he solicited Ukrainian interference in the 2020 election. The Republican-dominated Senate voted in 2020 to acquit Trump and keep him in office.
Nadler’s committee later helped draft an article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Again, the Senate voted not to convict Trump.
Nadler later served as ranking member on the panel after Republicans won House leadership. He stepped down from that role late last year.
Nadler’s decision to relinquish that spot came a day after fellow Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin announced his bid for the job and quickly amassed support from colleagues.
Raskin, a Jewish Democrat in Maryland, last month joined a growing list of Democrats backing a bill that would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel from the US.