Talks of longtime Democrat representative and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) retiring are starting to grow as other prominent committee chairman announce retirement and the party is losing momentum to keep their House majority in the midterms.
Nadler, who has been a close confidant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — voting with her 99 percent of the time — and has been in Congress since 1992, may call it quits after his current two-year term expires in 2022, according to “insiders” who told the New York Post.
One person who spoke to the Post said, “People are wondering when he would decide to retire,” since he has yet to announce his reelection and acknowledged that the Democrats might lose the House majority, putting Nadler in the minority. The person added, Nadler “has a fighting spirit but maybe now is the time to exit.”
Another person close to the Democrat, said, “The congressman has refused to give a straight answer when the subject comes up.”
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democrat consultant, told the Post that this is not the first time that he’s heard about the 74-year-old lawmaker possibly retiring, adding, “Does he really want to be in the minority next year? How much more can he get done?”
If Nadler retires, he would be joining droves of other Democrats leaving the House, either by announcing retirement or seeking higher office instead of fighting a tough reelection. One of the longtime Democrats who announced retirement last month was Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY). Yarmuth currently serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee and has led part of the talks on infrastructure.
Nadler’s departure would not surprise some, as he has had health problems in the last couple of years. In 2019, the Post reported, the then 71-year-old Nadler “nearly collapsed and had to be rushed to a hospital” during a press conference with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
After the incident, the congressman wrote on social media that, due to the “very warm” room, he “felt a bit ill” and said he was “obviously dehydrated.”
Additionally, in 2002, Nadler underwent gastric bypass surgery during the August recess after facing “decades of health-threatening obesity” and peaking at 338 pounds before the surgery, according to a press release at the time. He wrote: “I want to live to see my grandchildren grow up … How many grossly overweight 80-year-olds do you know?”
Above all, last year, the congressman rushed home and missed part of the impeachment of former President Donald Trump to be with his wife, Joyce Miller, after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.
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