Powerful Dem Senator Will Retire Instead of Running For Re-Election in 2022″
A powerful Senator, Pat Leahy, became the next Dem politician who will retire rather than seek reelection next year. Leahy, 81, is the longest-serving sitting senator.
Leahy said from the Vermont statehouse that he and his wife, Marcelle decided “it is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home.”
He is the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. He is also the senior-most member of the Judiciary and Agriculture committees.
From Axios:
What they’re saying: Leahy said from the Vermont statehouse that he and his wife, Marcelle, concluded that “it is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home.”
Leahy, known for taking photos around the Capitol and his appearances in Batman films, is also the current president pro tempore of the Senate, putting him third in the line of presidential succession, after Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
From Deadline:
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the president pro tem of the Senate and its longest serving current member, announced on Monday that he will not seek another term.
Leahy, 81, told reporters in Vermont that it “is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state.”
Leahy is a longtime supporter of the entertainment industry, having chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also appeared in five Batman films, the most recent being Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. Around the Capitol, he frequently carries a camera to capture candid shots of the halls of Congress.
Leahy was first elected in 1974, a member of what was called the Watergate class, or the group of reformers elected in the wake of the scandal that ended in the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
NEW: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the longest-serving sitting senator, will retire instead of seeking re-election in 2022. His retirement opens up a new, likely Democratic seat.https://t.co/MxyDx8ze7I
— Axios (@axios) November 15, 2021
#Breaking — Sen. Patrick Leahy, 81, fifth-longest-serving senator in history and president pro tempore of the Senate, announces in Vermont he’s retiring from the seat he’s held for 46 years. “It’s time to put down the gavel. It’s time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2021
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, longest-serving member of US Senate, says he won’t run for reelection in 2022.
— David Mack (@davidmackau) November 15, 2021