By Dave Workman
Liberal Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), announced he will not seek another term in 2026, bringing an end to a Capitol Hill career which will have kept him in Congress for 34 years, according to the New York Times.
During his three-plus decades, Nadler has been a consistent supporter of gun control, entering the spotlight recently in the wake of an office shooting in Midtown Manhattan, in the heart of his district, on July 28. Nadler took the opportunity to push Congress to “ban assault weapons, enact universal background checks, and implement red flag laws.”
According to CNN, the 78-year-old Nadler was first elected in 1992. Last month, a 26-year-old Democrat challenger, Liam Elkind, declared his candidacy for Nadler’s seat, igniting a discussion about “generational change” in Congress. Earlier this year, anti-gun firebrand David Hogg lost his position as vice chair of the Democrat National Committee when he publicly announced plans to raise millions of dollars to replace older Democrats with younger, and presumably farther-left, liberals.
As noted by Politico, “Nadler’s decision to retire comes amid a broader push for generational change in the Democratic Party after the election. He said other senior Democrats could consider stepping aside.”
In the New York Times article, Nadler said he had “been persuaded it was time for a changing of the guard.”
“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, adding that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us (Democrats) more.”
Back in 2023, Nadler was quick to praise the Biden administration for creating the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. It was a not-so-thinly-disguised move to establish a gun control lobbying group within the walls of the White House. That office was abolished within 48 hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President, returning to the Oval Office following four years of what many in the Second Amendment community considered gun control extremism.
Nadler will likely be remembered for his involvement in Trump’s impeachment, when Nadler was chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Last year, Nadler stepped aside from being the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, perhaps an early indication that he had seen the proverbial “writing on the wall” that it was time for a change.
Nadler will serve out his current term, which ends in January 2027.
Dave Workman is editor-in-chief at TheGunMag.com
