New Blood: Veteran Congressional Democrat Abandons Key Leadership Role

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Democrats everywhere are looking at the disaster that was the 2024 elections. Some are taking a careful look at what happened and how to do better next time, while others... aren't.

Advertisement

As is generally the case when a party takes a drubbing like this, part of this self-examination is a shakeup in some key leadership roles. In one such shakeup, on Wednesday veteran Democrat Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) announced he is giving up his leadership role in an important House committee and has endorsed Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) as his replacement.

Longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said Wednesday he was dropping his bid to remain the top Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee for the next two years and endorsed Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who announced just two days ago that he would challenge Nadler for the coveted job.

In a letter to Democratic colleagues, Nadler, 77, threw his support behind Raskin, 61, for the role, which will be critical in providing congressional oversight of the FBI and the Justice Department in the incoming Trump administration. Nadler's decision to bow out clears the path for Raskin, who faces no other challengers.

In his letter announcing his decision, it seems Jerry Nadler just couldn't prevent another display of Trump Derangement Syndrome:

“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 the letter.

Advertisement

Donald Trump presents no such threat, but claims like this seem a mandatory topic point among Democrats at the moment and give us some idea as to what the next four years will look like.

Jamie Raskin is currently the Democrat's ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. He is considered a "rising star" in the Democratic Party:

Raskin has been a rising star in the party. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tapped Raskin as Democrats’ lead prosecutor in the Trump impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack, then appointed him as a member of the special committee tasked with investigating the Capitol assault.

In 2022, he wrote a book, "Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy," in which he reflected on his 25-year-old son's death by suicide on Dec. 31, 2020, and the Capitol riot six days later.

While we may criticize Raskin for apparently not knowing that the United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy, we can't help but feel a little sympathy for his loss of his son to suicide. Even so - note the apparent mandatory display of Trump Derangement Syndrome.


See Related: 

Rep. Jerry Nadler Flip-Flops on Whether Biden Should Drop Out

Comedian Interviews Jerry Nadler, Letitia James and Others in Awesome Troll at the DNC

Advertisement

'Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale' Bill Passes House, Requires Warrant for Purchase of Online Data


After any election, there is always some shuffling of people in leadership roles, so this move isn't terribly surprising. As far as political positions go, there isn't a lot of daylight between Jerry Nadler and Jamie Raskin, so this move won't end up making a lot of difference as far as the workings of the House Judiciary Committee. And if (shudder) the Democrats regain control of the  House in 2026, Raskin, like Nadler, can be expected to use the Judiciary Committee to throw every roadblock he can at the Trump administration's agenda.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos