Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday that he would not run for the ranking member position on the House Judiciary Committee and instead endorsed Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., for the spot.
Nadler, in a letter to Democratic colleagues circulated on social media by The New York Times and other outlets, said Raskin has, in a few terms as a congressional lawmaker, “already proven himself to be an exceptional leader and spokesperson for our party’s values.”
“As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” Nadler wrote.
Nadler, in his letter, pledged to still be an “active” member of the committee, commenting that he’s “eager to work alongside its new leadership in the battle to protect our most vulnerable communities and our most precious democratic ideals.”
Raskin currently serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, where he often faced off this Congress against Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., and was an outspoken critic of a House GOP impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
Nadler’s announcement comes as Democrats are preparing for the next Congress, where Republicans will control the House and Senate. President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican, will return to the White House in January.
Raskin, in a letter dated Monday, stated he would seek the Judiciary position, referenced Republican control and said the “MAGA movement has not only a trifecta but a complicit Supreme Court waiting in the wings and a dominant media propaganda system parroting all the lies.”
“House Democrats must stand in the breach to defend the principles and institutions of constitutional democracy. That is our historic assignment now. We dare not fail,” Raskin wrote.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s name was corrected in this report.
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