Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler to retire from Congress, citing need for “generational change” in interview with The New York Times

Democratic representative Jerry Nadler, the oldest New Yorker in the room, will not ask for re -election in 2026, declaring that there is a “necessity for a generational change in the party”.

In an interview published on Monday in the New York Times, Nadler said that after watching former President Joe Biden withdraw from the 2024 elections after his gross debate against President Trump, he decided that a younger successor “may perhaps do better, may perhaps help us.”

“I’m not saying that we should change throughout the party,” Nadler told New York Times. “But I think that a certain change is very useful, especially when we are faced with the challenge of Trump and his nascent fascism.”

He did not say at the time who he would prefer to succeed him.

Nadler, 78, was elected for the first time at Congress in 1992. He was president of the judicial committee of the Chamber from 2019 to 2023, then was a classification member until the representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland launched his attempt to dislodge Nadler. The New York Democrat made the decision to resign in December 2024. Nadler was also director of Mr. Trump’s first dismissal.

Nadler faced a main challenge by Liam Elkind, 26. Elkind told CBS News in August that the party needed “to be the fighter party. We must be the party of the organizers. We must be more relevant in generation, better organized and ready to fight”.

The head of the minority of the Hakeem Jeffries Chamber in a statement called Nadler “an relentless fighter for justice, civil rights and freedoms and the fundamental promise of equality for all”.

“As legendary president of the powerful judicial committee of the Chamber, he helped direct two historical dismissal and to ensure that no one, not even the president, be above the law,” said Jeffries. “In this role, he defended the legislation to protect our democracy and the American lifestyle, fighting for women, people of color and the LGBTQ +community, in particular devoting the law on respect for marriage. … The years of Leadership of Jerry have earned him a place among the greatest civil servants of our country.