Following the 2024 elections, Democrats will once more be in the minority in the House. Ahead of the 119th Congress, Democrats are vying for ranking member positions on crucial committees, especially the House Judiciary Committee. While the 77-year-old Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has served as the top Democrat on the Committee for years, The Hill reported on Monday that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who currently serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, is challenging him for the role.
As the report mentioned:
The announcement from Raskin, which had been the subject of speculation for weeks, sets the stage for a high-stakes clash between two House Democrats for the ranking member role on one of the most powerful committees on Capitol Hill.
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Raskin — who is currently the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee — announced his candidacy in a letter to colleagues.
“After a week consulting most of our Colleagues and engaging in serious introspection about where we are, I am running today to be your Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee in the 119th Congress,” Raskin wrote. “This is where we will wage our front-line defense of the freedoms and rights of the people, the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI, and the security of our most precious birthright possessions: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and democracy itself.”
Nadler — who was the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for part of the first Trump administration — announced his intent to remain atop the panel in a letter to colleagues last month, highlighting his history of leading efforts against President-elect Trump.
Democrats don't look to be in disarray merely because of two top members competing for the role, but because of who else is involved.
On Saturday, The New York Times was out with a headline, "Democrats Weigh Dumping Nadler, Regrouping to Counter Trump," which mentioned Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats looking to focus on "younger lawmakers who they see as better suited to take on the president." Raskin is 61, and at the time of publication had not decided if he would launch such a challenge against Nadler. Sarah also covered over the weekend how Pelosi looks to have such a role.
Pelosi, on the other hand, will turn 85 in a matter of months, and it looks like she's running for reelection. She was also instrumental in forcing President Joe Biden out of the presidential race in July in something of a coup.
Shortly after the November election this year that resulted in a win for President-elect Donald Trump, as well as Republicans gaining back control of the Senate and ultimately keeping control of the House, Pelosi gave an interview with the outlet in which she blamed Biden for not dropping out sooner and for endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris too quickly.
As The Hill further mentioned:
But several outlets reported in recent weeks that some Democrats were pushing Raskin to jump into t he race, seeing the Maryland Democrat — who is 16 years younger than Nadler — as better suited to lead the panel during a second Trump administration.
According to The New York Times, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was one of those urging Raskin to run.
Raskin lauded Nadler in his letter announcing his candidacy, writing that, if elected ranking member, he would consult the New York Democrat throughout his tenure in the top job. Thereafter, however, he referenced “New generations of Democratic leaders in the House.”
“I take this step with respect and boundless admiration for my friend Jerry Nadler and his remarkable half-century of service in public office in New York and Congress,” Raskin said. “His career is a model of commitment to our shared Democratic vision of government as an instrument for the common good.”
“If I’m lucky enough to be chosen for this responsibility in the 119th Congress, I will turn to Jerry first and throughout for his always wise counsel and political judgment,” he added. “New generations of Democratic leaders in the House will look to him — just as we look every day to our great leaders Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn — as we take the fight to Jim Jordan and an emboldened MAGA movement.”
In a lot of ways, this sounds similar to Pelosi being instrumental in ousting Biden, only to then try to heap praise upon him at the DNC in August. Weeks before that, she also also offered bizarre comparisons between Biden and President George Washington, suggesting he should be on Mount Rushmore.
Judging from their "Dear Colleague" letters, it appears that Raskin and Nadler are looking to see who can portray themselves as a large foe of Trump, with his upcoming term approaching, as well as how much they tried to undermine him during his first term. This time, their pitches even include using the narratives that Democrats have still desperately cling to, like how Trump said in jest last year that he would be a "Dictator on Day One."
As the report continued:
“In the 119th Congress, the Judiciary Committee will be the headquarters of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism and MAGA’s campaign to dismantle our Constitutional system and the rule of law as we know it,” Raskin wrote in his letter. “I hope to be at the center of this fight and—as someone who has battled cancer and chemotherapy—I can tell you that I will never, never surrender.”
Nadler, meanwhile, is a more than three-decade veteran in the House who has been the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee since 2017 and was an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment. The New York Democrat called on that experience in making his case to continue leading Democrats on the panel.
“As a New Yorker, I have stood up to Donald Trump my entire career,” Nadler said. “Prior to his entering politics, I worked to prevent him from abusing taxpayer dollars to line his own pockets. When he became President, I led the Judiciary Committee’s efforts to hold him accountable for his various abuses of power, culminating in two historic impeachments.”
“I understand his playbook,” he added. “I am well prepared to help thwart his plans to be a “Dictator on Day One.”
The House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee is expected to vote on a recommendation for the ranking member position. The entire caucus will then vote on who should assume the top Democratic post.
Nadler has held on before when facing a challenge from a fellow top Democrat. New York Democrats were in disarray for the 2022 Democratic primaries for the House. With New York's 12th Congressional District, Nadler faced former Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a race he handily won in the August primary that year.
Raskin, who was first elected in 2016, objected to certifying the election results in favor of then President Trump in January 2017, as one of his first acts as a member of Congress. It was a move he even bragged about on his office website. Raskin and Nadler have both served as impeachment managers with Raskin serving as the lead manager for the second impeachment. The trial in the Senate didn't take place until Trump had already left office. Raskin has also been particularly relentless in trying to prevent Trump from serving as president again, even and including when it comes to having him kept off of the ballot, though the U.S. Supreme Court in March unanimously ruled against Colorado kicking Trump off of the ballot. Raskin also served on the former and thoroughly disgraced select committee investigating January 6, 2021
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