Sen. Richard J. Durbin, a 20-year-old second Senate Democrat and a leading liberal voice at Capitol Hill, announced Wednesday that he would not seek reelection next year, closing his 44-year Congressional career focusing on immigration, the federal justice system and smoking initiatives.
The decision by the 80-year-old Durbin is widely expected and will soon be touched on the crowded competition due to his unusual Senate vacancy in the solid blue state. He will also strengthen the generational change in the room as he will become the fifth sitting senator to announce his retirement.
In an interview ahead of his announcement, Durbin, who is in his fifth Senate term, said it would not be an easy choice to leave his main perch in the fight against President Trump, who is considering a disastrous threat to democracy. He described a recent moment.
“But you know,” he continued, “I have to be honest about this. There are good people on the wings. On the bench, there are good people ready to serve. They can fight as effectively as I can.
“In my mind,” the senator said in a video announcing his decision, “I know it's time to hand over the torch.”
Several Illinois Democrats have expressed interest in running if seats are open and ready for a potential candidacy. They include 38-year-old representative Lauren Underwood. Raja Krishnamoorthi, 51; Robin Kelly, 68 and 59; Lt. Col. Juliana Stratton.
It could be one of several very competitive primary elections for both parties over the next 18 months as Democrats get back to the Senate majority and Republicans are grasping to stick to it, and Democrats embark on a difficult slog.
Durbin's departure echoed in the Senate, where he played a prominent role in many major issues and was seen as a powerful defender of the party's position. He was the first to pioneer the path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants that were illegally brought to the United States as children.
His retirement will also open up a Democratic leadership position for the first time in a decade.
Durbin entered Congress in 1983 after slightly beating the 11th term Republican incumbent in the newly redrawn Springfield district district, which is more advantageous for Democrats. As a junior member of the room, Durbin led the drive to ban smoking on planes and helped lead the smoking ban movement in a law signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
“That has to be the most important thing I've done in terms of changing America,” Durbin said. “I was trying to escape the dangers of health, and I was going to reach the American cigarette tipping point. I didn't see it coming.”
He won a Senate seat in 1996 after his mentor and friend Paul Simon retired and approved Mr Durbin and took over. Durbin is currently the longest-elected senator in his state.
Durbin, a longtime force on the Judiciary Committee, became chairman in 2021 and resisted a call from progressives to create space for younger members, taking into account the role of leaders and other legislative responsibilities.
He then oversaw confirmation of 235 federal judges during the Biden administration — including one Supreme Court judge — surpassed the number of judges confirmed by Republicans when he was actively promoted in Trump's first term. Durbin also pushed aside the committee's suggestion of abandoning the so-called blue slip tradition.
After the 2004 election, Durbin was encouraged by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid (the then new Democratic leader) to look for the party's second-place slot known as the party's whip. Years later, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York became the third-ranked party leader, allowing Senate Democrats to use his fundraising and strategic skills after he managed the party's campaign division.
The three worked closely at the party's top and created a sensitive situation in 2015 when Reed announced he would not run again. He supported Schumer for Durbin's top job, who had his room with Schumer at Capitol Hilllow House. Durbin also supported Schumer at the top post and continued his own leadership work, which led him to become one of the longest serving party leaders in parliamentary history.
In a statement, Schumer joined Senate Democrats who praised Durbin and called him “a trustworthy partner who has been one of the Senate's most respected voices for decades.” Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, and one of those interested in taking over Durbin in leadership, called him “Titan of the Senate.”
“For more than 40 years, Sen. Dick Durbin has been a pillar of leadership, integrity and unwavering dedication to the people of his hometown of Illinois and the nation,” Schatz said in a statement.
Durbin is one of the remaining senators who enjoy the opportunity to mix it up on the aisle and on the floor. He has also developed close ties with some Republicans, including Sen. Charles E. Grugsley of Iowa, who chaired the Judiciary Committee when Durbin was a top Democrat.
The two pushed a criminal justice overhaul that overcame Republican resistance to being signed into law by Trump during his first term, leading to the early release of thousands of prisoners who recalculated their sentences. In celebrating the sixth anniversary of that law, Durbin, the first step act in December, noted that less than 10% of the 40,000 prisoners released under the law, many of which were far fewer or imprisoned, than the typical recidivism rate.
“It's no secret that I enjoy Senator Durbin's work,” Grassley, 91, said in a social media post Wednesday, adding, “I'm sorry,” when I saw her Democrat colleague retire. “Obviously he's liberal and I'm conservative,” but that didn't stop them from having “a great work relationship,” as reflected in their first step act work, Republicans write.
Durbin was an early critic of the war in Iraq and voted against the recognition of military power in 2002. He later apologized for the abuse of detainees at a US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, “compared to the actions of crazy regimes such as Nazis, Soviet or crazy regimes that had no human concerns, and later apologised for their “choice of words.”
In 2001 he introduced the law of dreams alongside Sen. Orin G. Hatch, a Republican of Utah. It never became law, but it was announced by President Barack Obama in 2012 and laid the foundation for a postponement measure for the arrival and arrival of children, which protected hundreds of thousands of migrants from deportation. Trump has tried to end the program, but it remains a legal threat.
“It was a long and challenging decision-making process,” Durbin said of his retirement. “But I've been around the Senate long enough to realize you're always getting old and going to the minors, no matter what area of your main interest in the Senate.”
Nick Corasanity Contributed with a report from New York.
