New York Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House, said she won’t seek another term next year, joining a growing list of Democrats who say it’s time for fresh leadership.
“I love this work and I love my district, but I believe now is the right moment to step aside and allow a new generation of leaders to step forward,” she told The New York Times, which first reported the news of her retirement.
“New York’s recent mayoral election showed that Americans are hungry for change and determined to build a better future,” she said in a statement. Velázquez was an early supporter of Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign for New York mayor.
Mamdani, in a post on the social platform X, said the congresswoman, “has always been a champion and tireless advocate for immigrants, small businesses and working families. Your grace and fight showed us what real leadership looks like. From the bottom of my heart, thank you La Luchadora.”
Velázquez’s retirement is likely to attract another crowded Democratic primary in the 7th District, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Fellow Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s retirement has drawn a crowd of candidates in his Manhattan-based 12th District, while some primaries are expected in other districts in the city.
Velázquez, 72, is in her 17th term and is the ranking member of the House Small Business Committee. She served as chair of that panel twice — from 2007 through 2010 and again from 2019 through 2022.
Her first chairmanship marked the first time a Hispanic woman led a House committee and her second time at the helm of the panel overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, which put her in the forefront of attempts to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on small businesses.
She is a former head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the second-highest-ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee.
“From the very beginning of my journey in the Congress, Rep. Velázquez has been a tremendous mentor, friend and partner. It’s been an immense honor to learn from her and serve alongside her in the New York delegation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Niels Lesniewski contributed to this report.
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