WASHINGTON—Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) announced on Dec. 2 that he’s challenging Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the top Democrat spot on the House Judiciary Committee.
Raskin said that the committee will take center-stage with President-elect Donald Trump, of whom he’s a staunch critic, back in the White House.
The GOP is projected to retain its majority in the House and therefore control the committee.
“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,” wrote Raskin.
In what he called a “historic assignment,” Raskin called on his fellow House Democrats to “stand in the breach to defend the principles and institutions of constitutional democracy.”
Raskin cited his credentials including working as a constitutional law professor at American University and Yale Law School; being the lead House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial following the Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021; serving on the House select committee to investigate Jan. 6; and serving as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
Raskin said he expects the Trump administration to use the Justice Department and FBI to conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants and as a tools of “political revenge and prosecution.”
Raskin compared this fight to him battling cancer. In 2022, Raskin was diagnosed with lymphoma. As of 2023, his cancer has been in remission.
And despite running against him, Raskin expressed “boundless admiration” for Nadler, whom he called a “friend.”
“His career is a model of commitment to our shared Democratic vision of government as an instrument for the common good,” he said.
“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.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Nadler’s office for the congressman’s reaction but received no reply by publication time.
