WASHINGTON ― Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday he wouldn’t run to be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee next year, endorsing Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) as his replacement.
“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 in a letter to his colleagues obtained by the Associated Press.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, announced his bid to take over as the top Democrat on judiciary this week, saying the committee would be “the headquarters of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism.”
The highest-ranking member of the minority party sits beside the committee chair and plays a significant role in hearings. Under Raskin’s leadership, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee frequently undermined Republican messaging as that committee tried but failed to come up with impeachment material against President Joe Biden.
The House Judiciary Committee next year will be chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a strong backer of President-elect Donald Trump. Committees draft legislation and can issue subpoenas for testimony or information under penalty of contempt of Congress and referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
As chairman of the Judiciary Committee when Democrats controlled the House, Nadler led two impeachment efforts against then-president Trump.
Raskin praised Nadler in a statement.
“Jerry Nadler is an extraordinary lawyer, patriot and public servant,” he said on social media. “His dogged defense of civil rights and civil liberties is a great inspiration to our people. I am honored and humbled to have his support in the battles ahead.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.