Congress Member Jerry Nadler celebrated his main victory on Aug. 23, 2022.
Photograph by Max Parrott
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler is not going to search re-election when his time period as considered one of New York’s high elected officers in Congress involves an finish subsequent yr, the 17-term Congress member mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.
He mentioned it was time to hold up his hat and let another person take over his Manhattan spot within the U.S. Home of Representatives.
“Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election next year and that this term in Congress will be my last,” the veteran politician mentioned. “This decision has not been easy. But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation.”
The profession elected official, a Democrat, spent over three a long time in his present put up. He has performed main roles in NYC milestone events, comparable to securing funding to rebuild the West Aspect’s Highline – an over one-mile elevated, linear metropolis park constructed out of an deserted rail observe. First opened in 2009, the Highline right this moment is considered one of NYC’s hottest points of interest.
Nadler was additionally in workplace throughout catastrophic occasions in NYC that resonated around the globe — most notably, September 11, 2001.
The 9/11 terrorist assaults on the World Commerce Heart occurred in the course of the first half of Nadler’s Congressional tenure, in addition to how he contributed to managing the residual travesties that ensued following the atrocity. An advocate for first responders, he challenged the Environmental Safety Company (EPA), led on the time by Christie Todd Whitman, in regards to the air high quality in Decrease Manhattan within the days, weeks and months following he assaults.
“And in the aftermath of the horrific 9/11 attacks, I fought to secure $20 billion for recovery efforts, led the hearings that exposed the EPA’s lies about Lower Manhattan’s air quality, and co-authored the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide support to first responders and survivors,” Nadler mentioned.
Rep. Jerry Nadler and MTA Chair Janno Lieber chat on the opening of Grand Central Madison on Feb. 27, 2023.Marc A. Hermann / MTA
Nadler, 78, represents Manhattan’s Midtown, Higher West Aspect and Higher East Aspect neighborhoods, generally known as New York’s twelfth congressional district. In a New York Occasions interview, he mentioned former President Joe Biden’s lackluster efficiency all through his re-election bid final yr in opposition to then-candidate, President Donald Trump.
Biden’s efficiency in the course of the June 2024 debate, the place he discovered phrases and at instances appeared to battle together with his statements, was extremely criticized, as each Republicans and Democrats questioned whether or not he was succesful
“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 advised the Occasions.
Who will exchange Nadler?
In July, CNN reported that Liam Elkind threw his hat within the ring to problem Nadler for workplace. Elkind is a local New Yorker who based the nonprofit Invisible Fingers to ship important objects to these in want in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 26-year-old Rhodes Scholar even advised CNN that he’s “respectfully asking” Nadler to retire.
In the meantime, Nadler mentioned he plans to remain energetic throughout the NYC group, with out having a political position.
“I don’t know what the future beyond 2026 holds, but I plan to stay fully engaged in the community that is my home and in the causes that I’ve championed throughout my life,” he mentioned. “My plans for the next 16 months, however, are clear. I will continue to give everything I have to defend our democracy, protect our institutions, and fight for the values that as Americans and New Yorkers we share.”
