Jamie Raskin runs to be top Dem on House Judiciary in face of 'emboldened MAGA movement'

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) announced Monday that he was officially running to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) as the ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee.

In a letter to fellow Democrats, Raskin said he based his decision on threats from the "MAGA movement" following the re-election of Donald Trump.

"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," the Democrat 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."

Raskin said he had already seen "familiar" elements from Trump's previous administration: "the spectacular pay-to-play corruption, the overt plutocracy and unrepentant misogyny and racism; the cavalier lawlessness and contempt for the Constitution; and the determination to make government an instrument of fear and cruelty."

"But this time the MAGA movement has not only a trifecta but a complicit Supreme Court waiting in the wings and a dominant media propaganda system parroting all the lies," he warned. "House Democrats must stand in the breach to defend the principles and institutions of constitutional democracy."

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Raskin also praised Nadler for "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, I will turn to Jerry first and throughout for his always wise counsel and political judgment," he vowed. "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."

New: Jamie Raskin announces run to be top Dem on House Judiciary, challenging Jerry Nadler and setting up an intraparty fight pic.twitter.com/Ls3vp8eep7
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) December 2, 2024