Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer will announce his retirement from Congress Thursday, capping off a decades-long career that culminated in two four-year stints as House majority leader where he played a key part in passing major bills including the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n
Hoyer confirmed the news in an interview with the Washington Post<\/a> that was published shortly after POLITICO’s initial report, which cited two people granted anonymity to confirm the news ahead of a public announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job,” he told the Post.<\/p>\n Hoyer, who represents a district stretching from the eastern Washington suburbs to southern Maryland, has served in Congress since 1981, rising up through the ranks to become the second-ranking House Democrat under Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<\/p>\n The two leaders were known for their personal rivalry dating back to their days as congressional interns in the 1960s, but after Pelosi defeated Hoyer in a 2001 leadership race they ultimately formed an effective partnership atop the Democratic Caucus.<\/p>\n While Pelosi was known for her progressive views and strong fundraising, Hoyer was a master of interpersonal relations \u2014 both among fellow Democrats and across the aisle \u2014 making him a highly effective floor leader.<\/p>\n He stepped aside from his senior role after Democrats lost the House in 2022 as part of a broader changing of the guard but remained in Congress, retaking a senior post on the House Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n Only two sitting House members \u2014 GOP Reps. Hal Rogers of Kentucky and Chris Smith of New Jersey \u2014 have served longer than Hoyer, and only by a few months.<\/p>\n Now 86, Hoyer remained circumspect about his plans to run for re-election. The decision comes as numerous senior Democrats are facing primaries from younger candidates or choosing not to run for reelection. Pelosi announced in October she plans to retire<\/a> at the end of her term.<\/p>\n Hoyer praised Pelosi, whom he lost a leadership contest to in 2001, in the Post interview as “tough-as-nails.”<\/p>\n \u201cSure, I would have loved to have been speaker. Who wouldn\u2019t love to be speaker? But they\u2019re not deep regrets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n