Jamie Raskin asks colleagues to back him as House Judiciary Committee chairman

Raskin is likely to become the committee chairman once Democrats assume the House majority in January 2027, taking over the role from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), whom Republicans recently elected minority leader for the next Congress.The Maryland Democrat said he “respectfully and humbly” asks for his colleagues’ support in his bid to lead the House Judiciary Committee. “I am grateful for your continuing friendship and encouragement just as I am grateful for the passionate commitment of our Leadership Team and that of all of our Members,” he wrote in a letter. “I would be honored to earn your support to lead the Democratic Members of the Judiciary Committee in the 120th Congress, and I look forward to working with you in all the days and months ahead.”Raskin vowed to continue fighting “against MAGA corruption and authoritarianism” as Democrats prepare to take advantage of their investigative powers before they retake control of Congress next year. He has not ruled out impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, who faced impeachment twice during his first term, or any members of the administration.“Nobody on the Democratic side is afraid of impeachment,” the congressman said in August, adding that he considers it a “tool in the toolbox.”In the three-page letter, Raskin highlighted House Judiciary Committee Democrats’ list of accomplishments since Trump’s return to office in January 2025.For instance, Raskin and other Democratic members of the committee exposed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s “staggering conflicts of interest” during a congressional hearing before she was fired in March. Similarly, former Attorney General Pam Bondi was dismissed in April after the committee’s minority party questioned her handling of the Epstein files.“But all of these successes are small potatoes compared to what we will need to do to restore the rule of law and legislate against the disgraceful corruption of the government once we actually have the gavels,” Raskin wrote.He promised to continue the committee’s oversight work to tackle certain issues that he considers examples of corruption, such as federal immigration enforcement.DEMOCRATS ALREADY RECRUITING OVERSIGHT STAFF AS LEFT-LEANING LAW FIRMS GEAR UP FOR TRUMP INVESTIGATIONSRaskin is all but guaranteed to be the next House Judiciary Committee chairman, considering his current seniority on the panel. No other Democratic member of Congress has launched a bid for the top post.Last week, Raskin was reelected to a sixth term representing Maryland’s 8th Congressional District. Prior to his time in Congress, he served three terms as a Maryland state senator and worked as a constitutional law professor at American University.