Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer to retire after nearly 50 years in Congress and decades in Democratic leadership

Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland will not seek reelection next year, a source familiar with his plans confirmed to CBS News — ending a career in Congress that stretches back to the early 1980s and included decades in Democratic leadership.

Hoyer plans to formally announce his retirement in a speech on the House floor Thursday morning, the source said.

Hoyer confirmed his planned retirement in an interview with The Washington Post, saying he “did not want to be one of those members who clearly  stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job.”

The 86-year-old lawmaker has represented Maryland since 1981, covering a House district that stretches from the eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C., to southern Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.

For two decades, Hoyer was the House Democratic caucus’s second-in-command, behind House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi of California. He served as House majority leader for a total of eight years, including the first two years of the Obama and Biden administrations, when he played a role in the lower chamber’s passage of legislation like the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. 

He was also vocal during the first impeachment of President Trump in 2019.

Hoyer and Pelosi both stepped away from Democratic leadership after the 2022 midterms, with Pelosi saying she wanted to clear the way for a “new generation.”

At the time, Hoyer explained his decision by joking on CNN: “Have you heard I was 83?”

Hoyer has been active in politics since 1966, when he was elected to the Maryland state Senate at the age of 27, according to his official biography. He was elected to the U.S. House 15 years later, and began taking on roles in Democratic leadership in the late 1980s.

At certain points, Pelosi and Hoyer were seen as rivals vying for the speakership — a role that only Pelosi ended up securing. But the two have lauded each other in recent years.