Watch: Representative Steny Hoyer announces retirement in an emotional speech in the House of Representatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress who has been a contender for House speaker, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of his term.

Watch Hoyer’s speech announcing his retirement in the video player above.

Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped guide Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, spoke on the House floor about how the Congress he entered in 1981 had changed from a time when “most Republicans and Democrats worked together in a collegial and productive way.” He said he was now “deeply concerned that this council does not live up to the goals of the founders.”

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Hoyer, who choked up at times during his 10-minute speech, said that next year he will have “a lot to say about the issues we’ve dealt with and the ways this council has changed during my time.”

“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to examine their consciences, renew their courage, and assume the responsibilities required by Article I of the Constitution,” Hoyer said. “Only in this way can we ensure that our 250 years will usher in a stronger and brighter beacon of a free and principled democracy.”

Lawmakers have grappled with fundamental questions about what it means to be represented during a turbulent period in American history. Times of political polarization created a climate that seemed to reward hard-line positions rather than traditional concessions.

“I fear that America is headed not toward greatness, but toward smallness, pettiness, division, lawlessness, and contempt,” Hoyer said. “We must respect and love each other. We must remember that we are not great or unique because we say we are great, but because we are fair, generous and fair.”

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Hoyer remained respected on both sides of the political aisle.

Republican Rep. Glen Thompson of Pennsylvania spoke after Hoyer on Thursday, praising his colleague as a “statesman.”

“I just extend my congratulations on his retirement announcement and thank him for his service as a statesman, especially at a time when we are increasingly divided,” Thompson said.

Hoyer, 86, is the latest in a generation of senior leaders to step aside, making way for a new era of lawmakers eager to take over. Retirement rates have risen in both major political parties, the Democratic and Republican, ahead of the midterm elections in November that will determine control of Congress.

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Arriving in the House for the first time in 1981 after a special election, Hoyer’s reach extended far beyond the Chesapeake Bay region, and he quickly rose to the ranks of leadership to become the No. 2 Democrat. He served as majority leader after Democrats came to power after the 2006 election and again in 2019 after they regained control during President Donald Trump’s first term.

During those years, Hoyer served as a partner and sometimes rival to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as part of a trio of top Democrats along with Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina.

That was the era in which Democrats, along with President Barack Obama, pushed the Affordable Care Act and other landmark legislation into law. Hoyer counts among his professional accomplishments the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which he co-sponsored.

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During the Trump era, as Democrats worked to regain control of the House, Hoyer campaigned to woo blue-collar voters outside the party’s strongholds and position himself as a potential alternative to Pelosi. For years, Hoyer has championed what he called his “Make it in America” agenda to boost manufacturing, production and jobs.

But leaders often move in tandem, and when Pelosi announced last fall that she would end her career after that term, Hoyer’s next move was widely watched.

Hoyer represents a district stretching from the Washington suburbs to southern Maryland, a blue state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 statewide. He won re-election in 2024 with about 68% of the vote.

Witt reported from Annapolis, Maryland.