{"id":2531537,"date":"2026-01-08T15:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/longtime-house-democrat-announces-retirement\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:28:12","slug":"longtime-house-democrat-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/longtime-house-democrat-announces-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime House Democrat Announces Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flongtime-house-democrat-announces-retirement%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2531537&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Maryland Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, an 86-year-old Democrat who first joined Congress in a 1981 special election, announced he will not seek re-election after a decades-long career. A onetime No. 2 House Democrat for about 20 years and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-conservatives-quietly-outmaneuvered-weakened-mcconnell-on-ukraine\/\" title=\"Conservatives quietly outsmarted weakened McConnell on Ukraine.\">long-serving party leader<\/a>, Hoyer saeid he and his family decided it was time to step down rather than &#8220;outstay&#8221; his ability to do the job. On the house floor he delivered an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >emotional speech decrying political polarization<\/a>, urging colleagues of both parties to examine their consciences and work together to defend American democracy. Hoyer blamed part of the divisiveness on confrontational leaders &#8211; singling out President Trump&#8217;s pardons related to Jan. 6 &#8211; and warned that the country risks &#8220;smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, lawlessness, and disdainfulness&#8221; if norms erode. he thanked staff, constituents and colleagues in a social post and joins other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-kamala-harris-senior-adviser-symone-sanders-to-leave-white-house\/\" title=\"Report: Kamala Harris Senior Adviser Symone Sanders to Leave White ...\">high-profile departures<\/a> from the House, including Nancy Pelosi and Marjorie Taylor Greene.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>One of the longest-tenured Democrats in the House is calling it a career &mdash; and he&rsquo;s leaving his colleagues with a sobering parting message.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/07\/steny-hoyer-retire-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a> reported Thursday on Maryland Rep. Steny H. Hoyer&rsquo;s decision not to run for re-election after a lengthy, decades-long career.<\/p>\n<p>The 86-year-old Hoyer, feeling a sense of contentment with what he&rsquo;s accomplished, came to the decision with his family and friends over the Christmas season.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed &mdash; outstayed &mdash; his or her ability to do the job,&rdquo; Hoyer explained as part of his rationale.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">To my staff, colleagues, loved ones, the people of Maryland&rsquo;s 5th District, &amp; all who helped me along the way &ndash; thank you.<\/p>\n<p>For the rest of this Congress, I&rsquo;ll continue my work to ensure the People&rsquo;s House reflects the will of the American people &amp; serves as the guardian of&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Steny Hoyer (@RepStenyHoyer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepStenyHoyer\/status\/2009309093563896263?\">January 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to his online <a href=\"https:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/search\/bio\/H000874\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">biography<\/a>, Hoyer joined Congress in May 1981.<\/p>\n<p>He won his seat in a special election after then-Rep. Gladys Noon Spellman had to vacate her seat due to an &ldquo;incapacitating illness.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>From there, Hoyer would eventually climb the ranks all the way to the No. 2 House Democrat &mdash; a position he held for 20 years &mdash; though the coveted Speaker position eluded him, despite his attempts to win it.<\/p>\n<p>Hoyer did have jokes about his pending retirement: &ldquo;At this young age, it&rsquo;s probably premature.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There were far fewer jokes to be found when Hoyer announced his decision on the House floor Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/steny-hoyer-retire-house-longest-serving-democrat-1913615a4dd55be5fa5d726b5894233f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Associated Press<\/a>, Hoyer gave an emotional 10-minute speech decrying the current state of modern politics, where it seems all but impossible for both sides of the aisle to work together to better help the American people.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; Hoyer said, choking up.<\/p>\n<p>He added: &ldquo;Only in that way can we ensure that our 250 years will be a preface to a stronger, brighter beacon in a free and principled democracy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The longtime Democrat wasn&rsquo;t finished.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I fear that America is heading not toward greatness, but toward smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, lawlessness, and disdainfulness,&rdquo; Hoyer said. &ldquo;We must respect and love one another.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We must remember that we are not great or unique because we say we&rsquo;re great, but because we are just and generous and fair.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite those words of togetherness, Hoyer hasn&rsquo;t been hesitant to blame much of the current climate of divisiveness on President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>He told The Washington Post that Trump&rsquo;s decision to pardon people involved in the Jan. 6 incursion was a big reason for the ongoing split in politics.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As long as the people of America elect angry, confrontational people, don&rsquo;t be surprised that democracy works and you get an angry, confrontational Congress,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Hoyer is the latest major Congressional lawmaker to announce an impending departure from the House, alongside the likes of Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Hoyer to retire, warns colleagues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2531538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Steny-Hoyer.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[42937,32923,5894,7620,66603],"class_list":["post-2531537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-congressional-news","tag-democratic-party","tag-politics","tag-retirement","tag-u-s-house-of-representatives"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Steny-Hoyer.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2531537"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2531541,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531537\/revisions\/2531541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2531538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2531537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2531537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2531537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}