Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving lawmaker in the Senate and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday he will not seek re-election next year. “It is time to put down the gavel,” Leahy said. “It is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our […]
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving lawmaker in the Senate and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday he will not seek re-election next year.
“It is time to put down the gavel,” Leahy said. “It is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It is time to come home.”
Leahy was the first popularly elected Democrat in the state’s history. Elected in 1974 as one of the Watergate babies who rode on a reform wave that followed the presidential scandal, he went on to make a mark as an environmentalist, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
He also chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, including playing a key role in writing the oversight mechanism for the 2001 Patriot Act, enacted after 9/11 to ease restrictions on domestic surveillance.
Earlier this year, he presided over Trump’s second impeachment trial.
In recent years, the state of Vermont has become increasingly Democratic. The race for his seat will put the focus on two long-serving state politicians, Rep. Peter Welch and the state’s Republican governor Phil Scott.
