Dem Rep. Jerry Nadler Is Retiring; Attention Turns to His Successor

Dem Rep. Jerry Nadler Is Retiring; Attention Turns to His Successor

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who has served in Congress for 34 years, announced that he will not seek reelection next year. He represents New York’s 12th Congressional District, which currently encompasses much of midtown Manhattan.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Nadler, 78, acknowledged his reluctance to step aside, citing his belief that President Donald Trump “is threatening the foundations of democracy.” Still, he said he wanted to clear a path for “generational change” within the Democratic Party.

“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. He added that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”

🚨 BREAKING: Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler, who was accused of harboring illegal rioters in his office a couple months ago, will NOT be seeking re-election

Trump broke him 🤣

Good riddance to this weird freaking specimen. pic.twitter.com/VHRTSS4YIJ

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 1, 2025

The congressman has already come under pressure amid the party’s debate over aging leadership. In December, he was forced to give up his role as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee when it became clear that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) had the votes to defeat him.

Though he has long been one of Congress’s most liberal voices — and Republicans are pleased to see him go — his retirement raises questions about who will succeed him. It’s entirely possible that voters could opt for a successor in the mold of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, the far-left, antisemitic, current frontrunner in New York City’s mayoral race, whom Nadler has endorsed.

Nadler is already facing a 26-year-old primary challenger in his district. CNN reported in July that Liam Elkind, “who started an organization during the Covid-19 pandemic that delivered food and medicine, is pitching his run as ‘respectfully asking’ Nadler to retire.”

“There has to be a way of both honoring the 49-year-political career of someone like Jerry Nadler while asking him to build a bridge to the future,” Elkind told CNN.

Elkind, according to the report, has already secured the financial backing of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a Democratic mega donor, and endorsements from several influential local politicians.

Notably, Elkind does not appear to be a Mamdani fan, telling CNN he ranked Mamdani fifth on his own ballot in June.

He disagrees with the democratic socialist on issues including freezing rents and government-owned grocery stores, and for his declining to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” (Elkind noted that he is Jewish himself.) But Elkind said the focus on affordability and a new approach to politics is much of what’s on his mind too.

Asked by the Times about who might replace him, Nadler refused to speculate. But, according to the newspaper of record, a source familiar with his thinking said he “planned to support a loyal former aide, Micah Lasher, who represents parts of the Upper West Side in the Assembly, should he run. Mr. Lasher, 43, declined to comment.”

Although Nadler did not name names, he believes the time has come for other aging members of the Democratic Party leadership to hand over the reins to younger candidates. Much of the party’s current congressional leadership is over 80.

“I’m not saying we should change over the entire party,” he said. “But I think a certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism.”

It’s unclear whether Nadler would be retiring if Elkind hadn’t entered the race.

In terms of his legacy:

Nadler said he had tried to make the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created equal” his north star. “Much of the evolution of our country is broadening the definition of what that meant,” he said. “And I like to think I played a part.”

Mr. Nadler’s principled positions earned him a loyal following, especially among his Upper West Side political base, which in later years embraced him as something of a civic mascot in suspenders and spectacles.

When he showed up at the House’s impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump in 2021 carrying a grocery bag from Zabar’s, he went viral. Asked what was inside, he answered: “A babka and the Constitution, what else?”

While the Times portrayed Nadler as a “pillar of the Democratic Party’s old guard” and lauded him for his “leadership” during the Trump impeachment trials, many of us remember him a little differently.

Personally, when I think of Jerry Nadler, I think of a highly partisan, dimwitted, oafish hack.

Days after Democrats regained control of Congress in 2018, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee traveled by train to Washington, spending much of the trip on the phone. He openly discussed plans to “maximize political fallout” in the coming session. He spoke of the party’s plans to impeach both Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose Senate confirmation the previous month had drawn fierce opposition from Democrats and ignited a national firestorm.

Unbeknownst to Nadler, Mollie Hemingway, editor of The Federalist and a Fox News contributor, sat several rows behind him.

That time Jerry Nadler accidentally revealed his Trump impeachment plans to me on an Amtrak. https://t.co/NZyMUEnH3U

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) September 1, 2025

Another memorable moment came in July 2020. At the height of the Antifa riots in Portland, Oregon, a reporter asked Nadler to disavow the violence. His incredulous response? “That’s a myth that’s being spread only in Washington, D.C.”

Ignoring the reporter’s follow-up questions, he shuffled off to a waiting vehicle. The extraordinary moment went viral.

I ran into Jerry Nadler in DC and asked him to disavow the Antifa violence/rioting in Portland.

His response?

“THATS A MYTH” pic.twitter.com/veImyE2rju

— Fleccas 🇺🇸 (@fleccas) July 27, 2020

Although Nadler is Jewish, like a good Democrat, he said he “can’t defend what Israel is doing.” According to the Times:

Mr. Nadler has been sharply critical of Hamas, still believes in a two-state solution for the region and does not agree with those who say Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza.

But he said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel was committing mass murder and war crimes in Gaza “without question.”

And for the first time, Mr. Nadler said that when Congress returns later this month, he plans to join a growing number of Democratic lawmakers trying to use congressional authority to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel. (He said he will still vote to fund Israel’s missile defense systems.)

He believes Democrats have a good chance of winning back control of the House next year, adding, “Then you can cut the reign of terror in half.”

Although it will be nice to see him go, we need to brace ourselves for his replacement. It’s safe to say that in deep blue Manhattan, it won’t be a Republican.

Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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