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Jerry Nadler | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Judiciary Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Jordan |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Raskin |
| In office December 20, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Conyers |
| Succeeded by | Doug Collins |
| Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Goodlatte |
| Succeeded by | Jim Jordan |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New York | |
| Assumed office November 3, 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Ted Weiss |
| Constituency | 17th district (1992–1993) 8th district (1993–2013) 10th district (2013–2023) 12th district (2023–present) |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly | |
| In office January 1, 1977 – November 3, 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Albert H. Blumenthal |
| Succeeded by | Scott Stringer |
| Constituency | 69th district (1977–1982) 67th district (1983–1992) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jerrold Lewis Nadler (1947-06-13)June 13, 1947 (age 78) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Fordham University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Jerrold Lewis Nadler (/ˈnædlər/; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A resident of Manhattan'sUpper West Side and a member of theDemocratic Party, he has served as aU.S. Congressman since 1992. From 1992 until 2022, Nadler's district covered the west side of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, being numbered the17th district, then the8th district, and then the10th district in 2013. Since 2023, he has represented the12th district, which covers both the west and east sides of Manhattan from 14th Street to 110th Street. Before his election to Congress, he served eight terms as aNew York state assemblyman. Nadler is the dean of New York's U.S. House delegation and is known for his liberal record and close local ties.
On September 1, 2025,The New York Times published an interview with Nadler in which he announced that he will not seek reelection in 2026.[1]
Jerrold Lewis Nadler was born into aJewish family inBrooklyn on June 13, 1947, the son of Miriam (née Schreiber) and Emanuel "Max" Nadler.[2][3][4] Nadler described his father as a "dyed-in-the-wool Democrat" who lost his poultry farm inNew Jersey when the younger Nadler was seven.[2] In his youth, he attendedCrown HeightsYeshiva; as of 2018, he was the only member of Congress with a yeshiva education.[5] He graduated fromStuyvesant High School in 1965.[6] In high school, his debate team partner was future philosopher of scienceAlexander Rosenberg andDick Morris managed his successful campaign for student government president.[7]
Nadler received hisB.A. in 1969 fromColumbia University,[8] where he became a brother ofAlpha Epsilon Pi.[9] After graduating from Columbia, Nadler worked as a legal assistant and clerk, first withCorporation Trust Company in 1970, then the Morris, Levin and Shein law firm in 1971.[10] In 1972, Nadler was a legislative assistant in theNew York State Assembly before becoming shift manager at the New York CityOff-Track Betting Corporation, a position he held until becoming a law clerk with Morgan, Finnegan, Pine, Foley and Lee in 1976.[10]
While attending evening courses at theFordham University School of Law, Nadler was elected to theNew York State Assembly in 1976. He completed hisJ.D. at Fordham in 1978.[2]
Nadler was a member of theNew York State Assembly from 1977 to 1992, sitting in the182nd,183rd,184th,185th,186th,187th,188th and189th New York State Legislatures.[citation needed] He was a member of theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee[11] and its successor, theDemocratic Socialists of America.[12] He was active in the organization as late as 1999.[13]
In 1985, Nadler ran forManhattan Borough President. He lost the Democratic primary toDavid Dinkins.[14] In the general election, he ran as theNew York Liberal Party nominee, and again lost to Dinkins.[15]
In 1989, he ran forNew York City Comptroller, but lost toKings County D.A. and former U.S. representativeElizabeth Holtzman in the Democratic primary.[16][17]
Nadler founded and chaired the Assembly Subcommittee on Mass Transit and Rail Freight.[citation needed]
In 1992, Democratic representativeTed Weiss was expected to run for reelection in the 8th district, which had been renumbered from the 17th after the1990 U.S. census. However, Weiss died a day before theprimary election, and Nadler was nominated to replace Weiss. He ran in and won two elections on Election Day. He was unopposed in a special election to serve the rest of Weiss's eighth term in the old 17th district, and easily won a regular election for a full two-year term in the new 8th district.
Nadler's district was renumbered as the 10th district in 2013.[citation needed] From 2013 to 2023, the 10th district included Manhattan's west side from theUpper West Side down toBattery Park, including theWorld Trade Center; the Manhattan neighborhoods ofChelsea,Hell's Kitchen andGreenwich Village; and parts of Brooklyn, such asConey Island,Bensonhurst,Borough Park, andBay Ridge. It includes many of New York City's most popular tourist attractions, including theStatue of Liberty,New York Stock Exchange,Brooklyn Bridge andCentral Park.[18][19] He has never dropped below 75 percent of the vote in a general election; the district and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands for more than 120 years.
In 2020, Nadler faced a primary challenge from activist Lindsey Boylan; the election was the first time in his tenure that Nadler received less than 75% of the vote.[20]
In 2022, Nadler defeated his longtime House colleagueCarolyn Maloney in a three-way Democratic primary with 56% of the vote after he and Maloney were both drawn into thenewly-drawn 12th district duringredistricting.[21] Nadler won the 2022 general election in the 12 district as well.[22]
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Nadler is the ranking member of theHouse Committee on the Judiciary, and is a member of theTransportation and Infrastructure committees.[23]
Despite earlierefforts to impeach George W. Bush[24] and more recent requests from fellow representatives, he did not schedule hearings onimpeachments for Bush orDick Cheney, saying in 2007 that doing so would be pointless and would distract from the presidential election.[25] In an interview inWashington Journal on July 15, 2008, Nadler reiterated the timing argument and endorsedBarack Obama in the2008 presidential election, saying that electing an honest candidate would create a greater chance of prosecuting those in the Bush administration who had committed war crimes.[26]
Nadler chaired theHouse Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2023.[citation needed]
On a similar note, referring to hypothetical impeachment proceedings against PresidentTrump that would begin in the newly elected Democrat-controlled House, he suggested a "three-pronged test" that "would make for a legitimate impeachment proceeding". Such a test would include "the offenses in question must be so grave", and "the evidence so clear", that "even some supporters of the president concede that impeachment is necessary". If it was determined that the president committed an impeachable offense, lawmakers must consider if such an offense would "rise to the gravity where it's worth putting the country through the trauma of an impeachment proceeding," Nadler said.[27]
On September 24, 2019, RepresentativeLance Gooden proposed a resolution to remove Nadler from his position as chair of the House Judiciary committee, accusing him of unlawfully beginning impeachment proceedings before the House had given the committee authorization.[28][29]
Nadler served as animpeachment manager (prosecutor) during thefirst impeachment trial of President Trump.[30]
For his tenure as chair of the House Judiciary Committee in the 116th Congress, Nadler earned an "A" grade from the non-partisanLugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.[31]
PolitiFact criticized Nadler for incorrectly claiming following theKenosha unrest shooting thatKyle Rittenhouse had taken a gun across state lines and might thus be subject to a federalDepartment of Justice review, when in fact he had not.[32]
Nadler is the dean of New York's congressional delegation.[33]
On May 28, 2025 an aide at Nadler's district office in New York City was detained and handcuffed byDepartment of Homeland Security officers. The officers accused Nadler's staffers of "harboring rioters" and demanded access to his office, claiming that they didn't need a warrant, which Nadler says is incorrect. After the officers conducted a security check of the office, the aide was later released with no charges filed and Nadler is demanding that there be a congressional investigation into the incident and that Secretary of Homeland SecurityKristi Noem testify.[34]
Nadler was unhappy with the passage of the surveillance-reform compromise bill, theFISA of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008, saying it "abandons the Constitution's protections and insulates lawless behavior from legal scrutiny".[46]
Nadler compared Obama's acceptance of Republican demands to extend theBush tax cuts at the highest income levels to someone's being roughed up by the mob, asserting that the Republicans would allow the middle class tax cut only if millionaires and billionaires receive a long-term tax cut as well.[47]
Nadler has proposed changing the income tax brackets to reflect different regions and their costs of living, which would have lowered the tax rate for New Yorkers.[48][49] He has opposed tax breaks for high-income earners, saying that the country cannot afford it.[47]
Nadler sponsored theFreedom of Choice Act in 2004[50] and 2007.[51]
Nadler supportssame-sex marriage, andanti-discrimination protections on the basis ofsexual orientation andgender identity.
On September 15, 2009, Nadler and two other representatives introduced theRespect for Marriage Act, a proposed bill that would have repealed theDefense of Marriage Act and required the federal government to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages.[52]
In 2019, Nadler supported theEquality Act, a bill that would expand the federalCivil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.[53]
In March 2019, as the House debated President Trump's veto of a measure unwinding his declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, Nadler said: "I'm convinced that the president's actions are unlawful and deeply irresponsible. A core foundation of our system of government and of democracies across the world, going back hundreds of years, is that the executive cannot unilaterally spend taxpayer money without the legislature's consent."[54]
In 2015, Nadler voted to support an agreement to lift economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for Iran's compliance with the terms of the agreement which called for substantial dismantling and scaling back of their nuclear program.[55]
Nadler describes himself as a “committed Zionist” and a strong supporter of Israel as a homeland for Jewish people.[56]
Of Trump's decision torecognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017, Nadler said, "I have long recognized Jerusalem as the historic capital of Israel, and have called for the eventual relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem, the seat of the Israeli government. While President Trump's announcement earlier today rightly acknowledged the unique attachment of the Jewish people to Jerusalem, the timing and circumstances surrounding this decision are deeply worrying."[57]
In 2025, he spoke out against aggressive policing of pro-Palestinian protests.[56]
In 2020, Nadler praised a judge for a ruling that could lead to the removal of 20 or more stories in an already-constructed 52-story luxury high-rise building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The developer had received a permit to construct the building, but the judge said the permit should not have been given.[58] In March 2021, the N.Y.S. Appellate Division unanimously reversed and ruled in favor of the developers, finding that the building permit was lawful and that the trial court should have deferred to the N.Y.C. Board of Appeals. Opponents sought leave to appeal to the N.Y. Court of Appeals. On September 9, 2021, the N.Y. Court of Appeals denied the opposition group’s motion for leave to appeal.[59]
In April 2023, Nadler was one of the 95 co-sponsors of H.Res.319, which calls for the creation of aGreen New Deal.[60][61]
Nadler introduced theMarijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act in July 2019 tolegalize cannabis at the federal level by removing it from theControlled Substances Act.[62] He said: "It's past time to right this wrong nationwide and work to view marijuana use as an issue of personal choice and public health, not criminal behavior."[63] In November 2019, the bill passed the House Judiciary Committee by a 24–10 vote, marking the first time that a bill to end cannabis prohibition had ever passed a congressional committee.[64] In April 2022, it passed the full House of Representatives by a 228–164 vote.[65]
Nadler was among 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[66]
Nadler has had aliberal voting record in the House. He gained national prominence during theimpeachment of Bill Clinton, when he described the process as a "partisan railroad job".[67]
His Medicare proposal includes a section that provides for a consortium of organization to studyGround Zero illness.[68]
Nadler and Josephine Langsdorr "Joyce" Miller wed in 1976.[69] As of 2013, they lived inLincoln Square on theUpper West Side of Manhattan.[70]
In 2002 and 2003, Nadler hadlaparoscopicduodenal switch surgery, helping him lose more than 100 pounds (45 kg).[71][72][73]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 17th congressional district 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 8th congressional district 1993–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 10th congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Judiciary Committee 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 12th congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Judiciary Committee 2023–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 10th | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence of the United States | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
