House Democrats are applauding Rep. Jerry Nadler’s decision to retire from Congress — but they’re not going as far as saying some of their colleagues should follow his lead.
Nadler, who is 78 and has represented part of Manhattan for more than 30 years in Congress, announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in the 2026 midterms, citing a need to “pass the torch to a new generation.” His retirement comes as Democrats face pressure to embrace younger leaders.
“Every member has to make their own decision,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez told NOTUS. “There are so many factors that people take into account, and so that is an individual decision.”
Nadler is the oldest and longest-serving member of the New York delegation and has earned a reputation as one of the most high-profile members of the Democratic Party’s old guard. But at times he has also veered progressive, such as in June when he endorsed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor.
Most of Nadler’s fellow New York City lawmakers in Congress did not directly respond to questions from NOTUS about whether they think Nadler’s retirement should prompt more lawmakers to embrace generational change.
Rep. Grace Meng said retirement is “a decision for every single member to make in relation to their own circumstance and their districts.”
And Rep. Gregory Meeks suggested that older members should consider how retirement could affect Democrats’ numbers in the House.
“We’re going to miss Jerry,” Meeks told NOTUS. “But I don’t think that there’s any reason to say that everybody in the delegation should be leaving. Especially if you want to have power, you want to keep the power that we have.”
Of the 50 House members and senators who are 75 and older and up for reelection next year, more than half of them recently told NOTUS they do not have plans to retire. It has often left them at odds with Democratic voices outside the halls of the Capitol, who are calling for the party to move away from protecting incumbents and welcome primary challenges that could shake up Congress.
Even among those in Congress who have been more vocal about wanting party members to reconsider staying in office, few have committed explicitly to retiring or pushing their older colleagues to retire.
Nadler “has had an extraordinary career,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, who has advocated for younger Democratic leaders, adding that he appreciates that the New York lawmaker “also recognizes that it’s time for a new generation.”
But Khanna also said that retirement is a “personal decision.”
There’s also a lack of direct pressure from Democratic leadership for older members to retire.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Tuesday that “a generational change has been underway in the House Democratic Caucus for the last several years.”
“It’s something that every caucus member, regardless of which generation they find themselves in, has embraced,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries later refused to comment on whether 88-year-old Eleanor Holmes Norton — the delegate from Washington, D.C., who has faced questions about her ability to serve amid the federal government’s takeover of the capital — and other older lawmakers should retire.
“In the same way that other members of Congress have made decisions about their path forward, which include Congressman Jerry Nadler, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Danny Davis, as well as several other members of Congress who have made the announcement to retire, that’s a decision that will be made by that individual,” Jeffries told reporters of Norton.
Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York was vocal about the need for a reckoning about age and change among Democrats more broadly.
“There’s a generation of members here — and I include myself in that generation, though I’m a little bit younger, much younger — and I really believe that we have to look at succession leadership,” Clarke told NOTUS. “We’re in a new era, and new younger voices with different perspectives will do well for the body and for governance in the United States.”
The battle to replace Nadler is shaping up to be crowded. Potential candidates for Nadler’s seat are all along the age spectrum, prompting questions about just how much the race will actually be a referendum on Democratic lawmakers’ ages.
79-year-old former Rep. Carolyn Maloney is among those considering a bid, according to a former staffer in her congressional office who spoke with Politico. Maloney, who served in Congress for 20 years before losing to Nadler after redistricting left them running in the same district, would be the oldest member of the New York delegation and one of the oldest members of the House if she ran and won.
There’s also 26-year-old political newcomer Liam Elkind, who launched a primary challenge against Nadler before the congressman announced his retirement. Elkind’s campaign was already focused on age, and he told NOTUS last month that he was aiming to unseat Nadler because the party needs “new leaders who have the energy and the urgency” to beat Trump and Republicans.
And a source familiar with Nadler’s thinking told The New York Times that the congressman would endorse Micah Lasher, a member of the state assembly who is in his early forties, if he runs.
The district itself is a political hot spot, New York Democratic strategist Trip Yang told NOTUS in a text, and the spectrum of possible candidates means the race could go any way.
“Nadler has godlike status in the NY-12 portion of Manhattan. His endorsement carries weight,” Yang said. “Anything is possible, from sitting local electeds to first time candidates being viable.”