The House was his home: Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer announces retirement after 44 years

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland announced Thursday that he is preparing to leave the House after 44 years as the current longest-serving Democrat in the lower chamber.

Mr. Hoyer, 86, was first elected in a special election in 1981. He was a state senator for more than a decade and earned the title of Maryland’s longest-serving member of the House in 2007.

“I make this decision with sadness, for I love this House,” Mr. Hoyer said during a speech on the floor announcing that he wouldn’t seek reelection.

During his 10-minute speech, Mr. Hoyer became emotional as he thanked his family and friends and recounted the highs and lows of his service.

“I won elections and lost a couple, celebrated triumphs and suffered setbacks, enjoyed friendships and endured hardships,” Mr. Hoyer said. “As the song says, ‘Some days are diamond, some days are stone.’ Happily, I’ve experienced more diamonds than stone.”

Mr. Hoyer is known as the lead House sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and for his role in the Help America Vote Act of 2002 after the controversy surrounding the 2000 elections.

Former President Joseph R. Biden praised Mr. Hoyer’s “steady leadership [that] helped deliver some of the most consequential legislation in our nation’s history.”

“Throughout his career, Steny has always known how to work across the aisle. He knows how to get things done and deliver,” Mr. Biden wrote on social media. “People always trusted Steny, and that trust mattered. He’s as decent as they come: a man of deep character, faith, and dignity.”

In his floor speech, Mr. Hoyer spoke about what the House was like when he was first elected. He described how Republicans and Democrats worked together, a collaborative relationship that he said was fostered by the leaders of the House at the time. In 1981, when Democrats held a 51-seat majority, the speaker was Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Massachusetts Democrat, and the Republican leader was Rep. Robert H. Michel of Illinois.

“In the year to come, I will have much more to say about the issues we have grappled with and the ways this House has changed during my time,” he said.

Republicans have held the majority in the House since 2023.

Mr. Hoyer said he is “deeply concerned that this House is not living up to the Founders’ goals.”

“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to examine their conscience, renew their courage, and carry out the responsibilities that the first article of the Constitution demands,” he said. “Only in that way can we ensure that our 250 years will be a preface to a stronger, brighter beacon in a free and principled democracy.”

Mr. Hoyer quickly rose through the ranks after taking office in 1982 and was considered the No. 2 Democrat in the House for roughly two decades behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He represents Southern Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

The Maryland State Board of Elections website shows that five Democrats and one Republican have filed in recent months to run for the seat.

Mr. Hoyer served as majority leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023, and as House minority whip from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019.

Although he never became speaker, he told The Washington Post that he understands why Mrs. Pelosi served in the position as long as she did.

“Sure, I would have loved to have been speaker. Who wouldn’t love to be speaker? But they’re not deep regrets,” he said.

Mr. Hoyer recalled that as a student at the University of Maryland, he was inspired by a campus speaker with a cool car: Sen. John F. Kennedy.

“In his remarks, he urged us to do our duty in those days of world chaos,” he said. “In particular, he charged us students to become more active in our communities.”

He said he fears the country “is heading not toward greatness, but toward smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, loneliness and disdainfulness.”

“We must respect and love one another. We must remember that we are not great or unique because we say we’re great, but because we are just, generous and fair,” he said. “I hope that spirit can guide us the rest of this Congress because I still have much I want to do in the coming year.”

He told The Post that he made the decision to retire during the Christmas season with his family and “did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job.” He suffered a stroke in August 2024.

Republicans and Democrats lined up to praise Mr. Hoyer’s work through the years.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Republican, praised him as a “statesman.”

“I just offer my congratulations to his announced retirement and my thanks for his service as a statesman, especially at a time of what we have been living through, of growing divisiveness,” Mr. Thompson said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, called Mr. Hoyer’s career “legendary” and described him as a “mentor and friend to myself and so many members of the House Democratic Caucus over the years.”

“Throughout his incredible tenure in the House of Representatives, Steny made his mark on public policy and on the people who have had the honor to serve alongside him on both sides of the aisle,” he wrote in a statement.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania Republican, said Mr. Hoyer was “guided by respect, compassion, and principle.”

Mr. Hoyer “served the people of Southern Maryland with steadiness and honor, earning the utmost respect of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” he wrote on social media. “Congress, his constituents, and our country are better for his service — may his example continue to guide those entrusted with the work ahead.”

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, described Mr. Hoyer as a “pillar of strength [and] champion for the people of Maryland.”

“His patriotism, mastery of the legislative process and steadfast commitment to America’s working families have left an indelible mark on our nation,” she wrote on social media.