Clyburn to step out of Democratic leadership

Rep. James Clyburn (D.C.) will step down from Democratic Party leadership on Wednesday, ending more than two decades in the party’s upper echelons and stepping aside as assistant leader for the remainder of the 118th Congress. announced that it would be given to aspiring members of Congress. .

Clyburn, who has been in Congress for 32 years, did not give a reason for his decision, saying only that he had notified Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) of his plans. Clyburn stressed that he is not retiring from Congress completely and that he intends to return next year to confront unspeakable “threats” to the country.

“I am running for reelection in the 6th Congressional District,” Clyburn said in a statement.

“The events of the past few years have made it clear that America’s greatness is at stake and that the threat to our continued pursuit of a ‘more perfect union’ is real.”

First elected in 1992, Clyburn quickly rose to prominence on Capitol Hill, serving as head of the Congressional Black Caucus before being elected vice chair of the All-Democratic Caucus in 2003.

From there, he rose to become caucus chairman, and again in 2007, rising to the third-ranking position among Democrats, finishing with Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Calif.). Maryland). That year, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, and the top three Democratic leaders all stepped down.

But while Pelosi and Hoyer are completely stepping down as party leaders, Clyburn has decided to stay on, taking up the post of assistant Democratic leader this Congress, or No. 4 or No. 5, depending on who you ask. won the post.

But perhaps Mr. Clyburn’s greatest influence on the party in recent years has to do with his role as kingmaker in his home state of South Carolina. His enthusiastic support for Joe Biden in the state was a turning point in Biden’s bid for the Democratic nomination. Eventually the White House, in 2020.

Clyburn predicted in a statement Wednesday that Biden will win again in November.