Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced on Tuesday her intention to retire from Congress after quietly ending her reelection campaign over the weekend.
Norton, 88, filed paperwork to end her reelection campaign on Sunday without notifying the public — the news was only picked up through public records. She finally acknowledged the development in a statement on Tuesday, touting her accomplishments over her decadeslong career and saying she would pass the torch to the next generation.
“With fire in my soul and the facts on my side, I have raised hell about the injustice of denying 700,000 taxpaying Americans the same rights given to residents of the states for 33 years,” she said.
“The privilege of public service is inseparable from the responsibility to recognize when it’s time to lift up the next generation of leaders,” Norton added. “For D.C., that time has come. With pride in all we have accomplished together, with the deepest gratitude to the people of D.C., and with great confidence in the next generation, I announced today that I will retire at the end of this term.”
She said she would finish her current term, serving as “D.C.’s Warrior on the Hill” until its conclusion. She also said she would continue her activism after stepping down.
Despite her optimistic tone, Norton’s final term was plagued by concerns over her age, health, and mental acuity. She waved off calls to step down for years, maintaining, as recently as June 2025, that she had no plans of stepping down.
“I’m going to run,” Norton told reporters for Politico and NBC News when asked if she would run for reelection in 2026. “I don’t know why anyone would even ask me.”
Her hopes for reelection took a significant blow in October 2025 when she was taken advantage of by scammers posing as HVAC cleaners. A police report described Norton as having the “early stages of dementia,” something not previously known. A woman named Jacqueline Pelt was identified as Norton’s caretaker and power of attorney.
DC DEL. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON ENDS REELECTION CAMPAIGN
Though Norton’s office was quick to counter the report, saying police were not qualified to make judgments on her health, the damage had been done.
Norton has occupied her position for over 34 years, making her one of the longest-serving members of Congress.