By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) -U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from Manhattan who played a major role in both impeachments of President Donald Trump, will not seek re-election in 2026 after holding his seat for 34 years, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing an interview with Nadler.
His office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to confirm the report.
Nadler, 78, a liberal voice in Congress since 1992, said he believed it was time for a younger generation of Democrats to emerge.
Questions surrounding leadership age and generational change rocked the Democrats in 2024, when President Joe Biden, then 81, stepped down late in the presidential campaign amid concerns about his age.
“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.
A 26-year-old, Liam Elkind, had already announced his intention to challenge Nadler in next year’s primary. Nadler’s withdrawal could attract other contenders.
His solidly Democratic district includes some of New York City’s most exclusive addresses along each side of Central Park and influential financial institutions and corporate headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
Before redistricting, he represented the downtown area around the World Trade Center in 2001 at the time of the September 11 attacks.
As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Nadler served as an impeachment manager in the first attempt to remove Trump from office in 2019 over accusations that he solicited Ukrainian interference in the 2020 election. The Republican-dominated Senate voted in 2020 to acquit Trump and keep him in office.
Nadler’s committee later helped draft an article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Again, the Senate voted not to convict Trump.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Ross Colvin and Sonali Paul)
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