Steny Hoyer to Retire After Nearly 6 Decades in Office

Rep. Steny Hoyer has decided his 59th year in elected office will be his last. The Maryland Democrat, long the second-ranking member of his party in the House, won't seek reelection in 2026 and will announce he's retiring in a floor speech Thursday, per the Washington Post. "Tune in," the 86-year-old wrote Wednesday on social media, per the AP. Hoyer said he made the call over the holidays with his family, after decades near the center of major policy fights, per the Post. He cited a desire to step aside before age or infirmity took hold. "I did not want to be one of those members who clearly ... outstayed his or her ability to do the job," said Hoyer, who left leadership three years ago but remains active on the House floor.

Hoyer's exit comes as 40-plus other House members are exiting, many disillusioned, though Hoyer stressed he still views the House as a worthy institution. First elected to Congress in 1981 after rising in Maryland's state Senate, Hoyer served 20 years as House majority leader or minority whip under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a role that made him a key dealmaker on legislation such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, post-2000 election reforms, the 2008 financial rescue, the Affordable Care Act, and pandemic relief.

Known as an understated counterweight to Pelosi's harder edge, he often acted as a mediator when party tensions flared, calling himself a "happy warrior," per the New York Times. He'll also be remembered as one of the longest-serving No. 2 leaders in House history never to become speaker. Hoyer, a longtime member of the Appropriations Committee, has watched that committee, and the broader House, grind into a partisan stalemate, a shift he blames partly on voters rewarding "angry, confrontational" candidates and partly on President Trump's impact on norms, per the Post.

Hoyer's departure follows Pelosi's own decision not to run again, and he says his role now is to help voters answer a question he frequently hears about Congress: "How do we make this better? You do. You're a voter. You send the right people there, it'll get better."