WASHINGTON — Longtime Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., known for his colorful bicycle lapel pins that reflect his decades of climate and transportation advocacy, said he will not seek reelection in 2024.
“I firmly believe that when we focus on things that bring people together rather than divide them, that is when we make real progress,” Blumenauer, who was first elected to Congress during the Clinton administration, said in a statement Monday night. “It was a difficult decision to not run for re-election. Particularly after the amazing successes of the last several years. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Blumenauer, 75, has represented his Portland-based district since 1996.
“From enacting the largest climate and infrastructure investments in American history, helping 100,000 restaurants survive the COVID-19 crisis, expanding health care coverage for millions and making cannabis reform a mainstream position in American politics,” he said, “[o]ur accomplishments prove Congress can still deliver for the American people.”
In a statement, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., praised Blumenauer’s service as a senior member of the powerful, tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, where he helped shape the Inflation Reduction Act. The law made the