Eleanor Holmes Norton \u2014 the 88-year-old nonvoting delegate for Washington, D.C., in the House of Representatives \u2014 is facing calls from a prominent Democratic strategist to make 2026 her last full year in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile, who was Norton\u2019s campaign manager when she was first elected in 1990 and her chief of staff for eight years, wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Monday that she should not seek re-election during the midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazile, 65, called Norton her \u201cdear friend for 44 years,\u201d her \u201crole model and mentor\u201d and \u201ca second mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut Norton, a Democrat, is now 88 \u2014 the oldest current House member. She is no longer the dynamo she once was, at a time when D.C. needs the kind of energetic representation in Congress she provided for decades,\u201d Brazile wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in her best interest, and the interest of D.C., for her to serve her current term but then end her extraordinary service in Congress and not seek reelection next year,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazile went on to list a number of Norton\u2019s accomplishments in Congress but said Washington \u201cis under attack as at no other time in recent history, and we need a new champion to defend us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter doing so much for D.C. for so long, it\u2019s understandable that she wants to remain in Congress. Public service is her life. But no job can last forever, and no person is irreplaceable. As I\u2019ve told her in person, retirement from Congress is the right next chapter for her \u2014 and for the District,\u201d Brazile wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that members of Congress such as Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, 78; Sen. Dick Durbin, 80; and Sen. Mitch McConnell, 83, all decided not to seek re-election at ages younger than Norton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is the oldest member of the Senate. He turns 92 this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton said twice in June that she would seek re-election, but her office walked it back both times. Norton told Axios this month that she would “of course” run for re-election \u2014 this time, her office did not walk back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night on Brazile\u2019s op-ed or Norton\u2019s plans for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton already faces primary challenges from several candidates, including former DNC official Kinney Zalesne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton brushed off reports of criticism this year about whether she was fit to be D.C.\u2019s delegate as the Trump administration placed the district in its crosshairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in an interview with The New York Times in June that Norton was “an icon,” but he said that “it\u2019s going to take a new generation of leadership to win statehood and the battles of the day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton appeared to struggle to walk on her own as she left a news conference about the federal crime crackdown in D.C. two weeks ago. She held on to the arm of an aide who walked her up to the podium and told her, \u201cI\u2019ll be right there.\u201d After she spoke, Norton seemed to hold on to the podium until the aide returned to help support her as she walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norton has served in the House since 1991. Before that, in 1977, President Jimmy Carter named her the first woman to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n