Update, 9:13 a.m.: U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat who replaced his father in the House some 58 years ago and became one of the most powerful members of Congress ever, will step down after this year, the Free Press reports.
Dingell, 87, told the Free Press that he’d reached the decision to retire at the end of his current term — his 29th full one — rather than run for re-electon because it was time, given a list of achievements that any other member of Congress would envy, and his continued frustration over partisan gridlock.
“I’m not going to be carried out feet first,” Dingell, who will be 88 in July, told Nolan Finley in the Detroit News. “I don’t want people to say I stayed too long.”
Speculation has percolated for months about a successor.
The News reports Dingell’s wife, Deborah, who with her husband makes up one of Washington’s and southeastern Michigan’s most prominent power couples, is widely considered a possible candidate; there has also been speculation that state Sen. Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor could test the waters. It is considered a relatively safe Democratic district stretching from Dearborn west and Downriver.
More than health concerns, Dingell says a disillusionment with the institution drove his decision to retire, Finley reports.
“I find serving in the House to be obnoxious,” he says. “It’s become very hard because of the acrimony and bitterness, both in Congress and in the streets.”
More Dingell coverage:
Marisa Schultz: John Dingell 'a giant' in the history of Congress
Stephen Henderson: The difference John Dingell made will be missed
Earlier:
The longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history could announce as early as today whether he will seek a record 30th term, David Shepardson writes in the Detroit News.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell, 87, is set to address the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber at noon in Southgate, where many think he will announce whether he will seek re-election.
The Dearborn Democrat has been weighing for months whether to retire. Dingell has traditionally announced his re-election plans early in election years, typically in February. His aides said recently he is going through the same process he does every year.
In June, Dingell set the record as the longest-serving member of Congress in history. He has been a member of Congress for more than 58 years.
He has represented southeast Michigan since 1955, when at age 29, he won a special election after his father, John D. Dingell Sr., died. Dingell's father had held the seat since 1933.
