Steny Hoyer Announces Retirement From Congress After 45 Years

WASHINGTON – Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced Thursday that he’s retiring from Congress, ending his decades-long run in the House that included two four-year terms as Democratic majority leader.

“I rise today with mixed emotions and reluctant conviction,” Hoyer said in remarks on the House floor.

Politics: RFK Jr. Just Unveiled A New Food Pyramid — And There Are Some Big Changes

“I have decided not to seek another term in the People’s House.”

The Maryland Democrat, 86, has been in the House since 1981. He is broadly respected by Democrats and Republicans, both of whom cheered for him when he walked onto the House floor. Some chanted, “Steny! Steny! Steny!”

Over the years, he helped build the Democratic majorities under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden that passed some of their signature legislation, including the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform package, the Inflation Reduction Act and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which gave Americans cash to help them cope with the pandemic downturn.

He’s also been a prolific fundraiser for House Democrats. In 2024, he raised nearly $10.8 million between his campaign committee and leadership PAC.

Politics: CBS Anchor Fawns Over 'Ultimate Florida Man' Marco Rubio

During his floor remarks, Hoyer, who at times became choked up, said the Congress he joined in 1981 was one in which most Republicans and Democrats “worked together in a collegial way.” He lamented how it’s changed.

“I am deeply concerned that this House is not living up to the founders’ goals,” he said. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to examine their conscience, renew their courage and carry out the responsibilities that the first article of the Constitution demands.”

Without naming names, Hoyer seemed to be referring to President Donald Trump as he continued: “I fear America is heading not toward greatness but toward, but toward smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, lawlessness and disdainfulness. We must respect and love one another.”

In a testament to his bipartisan legacy, Republicans and Democrats surrounded him to give him hugs and handshakes after he spoke. Speaking later on the House floor, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) recalled that when he first came to Congress more than 15 years ago, his chief of staff singled out Hoyer as the Democratic member who “literally represents the term ‘statesman.’”

“It truly is,” Thompson said of the term applying to Hoyer. “He has not failed at that task.”

During his tenure, Hoyer rose through the party ranks, from chair of the Democratic Caucus to minority whip and, ultimately, to the role of House majority leader. He held that post from 2007 to 2011, and again from 2019 to 2023.

In both cases, he served as No. 2 to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). When she first became speaker in 2007, Hoyer was elected by the caucus to serve as majority leader, despite Pelosi pushing for Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.). That friction carried on for years within the caucus, with Democrats generally aligning themselves with one of two camps: the more progressive Pelosi faction or the more moderate Hoyer faction.

Politics: Mike Johnson Offers Phony Sympathy As He Blames 'Radicals' For Nancy Pelosi's Retirement

When Pelosi became politically toxic in certain parts of the country, as Republicans cast her as her party’s leftist bogeyman, Hoyer stepped in and did a lot of recruiting, allowing swing-state candidates to steer clear of Pelosi.

Pelosi and Hoyer have served together in the House for decades, and both kept a firm grip on their leadership posts for years. People on Capitol Hill sometimes felt bad for Hoyer, who Pelosi essentially boxed out of ever being the party’s top leader.

In an awkward way of addressing this tension, HuffPost once proposed to Pelosi that she let Hoyer be speaker for one week, just to experience the glory after being her No. 2 for so long. She wasn’t into it.

“What would be the purpose?” she said with a confused laugh during a 2018 interview. “That can’t be a serious question.”

Politics: Trump Baselessly Claims ICE Shooting Victim 'Willfully And Viciously Ran Over' Agent

So the answer is “no” to a weeklong taste of the nectar for Hoyer?

“For anybody,” she said.

Hoyer’s House seat is safely Democratic, so his party should have no problem retaining it in 2017.

Political Updates

Read the original on HuffPost