Jamie Raskin challenges Jerry Nadler for top Democratic spot on House Judiciary panel

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who served as the Democrats’ lead prosecutor in the Trump impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack, told colleagues Monday he will challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler for the top Democratic spot on the powerful Judiciary Committee.

Nadler, 77, of New York, has held the top job on the Judiciary panel since 2019, served in Congress since 1992 and has had some health scares in recent years. While Raskin is 61 years old, his bold challenge to Nadler is another example of a new generation of Democratic stars taking on the old guard — and the party's seniority system — after disappointing losses in the 2024 elections.

“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, of Maryland, a cancer survivor who also served on the special House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, wrote in a letter to colleagues Monday.

“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," he continued.

In his three-page letter, Raskin, the current ranking member of the Oversight Committee, also offered praise for Nadler, who is running for his fourth term leading Democrats on the Judiciary panel.

“I should say, finally, that 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. ...  If I’m lucky enough to be chosen for this responsibility in the 119th Congress," Raskin wrote, "I will turn to Jerry first and throughout for his always wise counsel and political judgment.”

Raskin, who was elected to the House in 2016, is not the only Democrat to announce a challenge to a longtime committee leader this year. Rep. Raul Grijalva, of Arizona, told colleagues in his own letter Monday that it was time for him to “pass the torch” as the leading Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee after Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., announced he would challenge the 76-year-old for the job.

Grijalva, who has served in Congress since 2003, had missed votes for several months after he announced a cancer diagnosis in April. Huffman, 60, was elected to Congress in 2012.

A race for the top position on the Agriculture Committee is also shaping up, with Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., vying to unseat longtime Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., who is 79 years old and has battled health issues for years.

The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which is closely aligned with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is expected to make recommendations to the full Democratic Caucus next week about which members should serve as the top Democrats on each committee in the next Congress. The caucus would then take a final vote.

For the Democrats, passing the torch has become a common theme over the past two election cycles. After House Democrats lost their majority in the 2022 midterms, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn — the trio of octogenarians that had led Democrats for roughly two decades — passed the baton to a new, younger generation of leaders: Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

Of course, the biggest torch was passed this summer when President Joe Biden, another octogenarian, was pressured by members of his own party to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee over concerns about his age. His 60-year-old vice president, Kamala Harris, replaced him on the ballot but lost decisively to Donald Trump, who, at 78, is the oldest person to be elected president.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com