He earned national acclaim for his role in the second Trump impeachment trial.
But Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said on Friday he has no immediate plans to use his increased status as a political springboard.
“I honestly don’t know the answer to that,” the lawmaker told WAMU-FM host Kojo Nnamdi and political analyst Tom Sherwood, when asked about his future.
“I am passionately committed to my work in the House of Representatives and to representing the great people in Montgomery and Frederick and Carroll counties,” he added. “And that’s really all I want to do right now.”
The lawmaker, who served as the lead impeachment manager, cautioned that the former president remains a threat to the nation.
“We still have him pandering to racist, violent, insurrectionist forces in the country, so I’m going to be out there fighting — as I always have been — for strong democracy,” he said.
Raskin sidestepped a question about whether he would run for U.S. Senate in 2024 if Maryland’s senior senator, Ben Cardin, decides to retire. Cardin will turn 81 that year.
“I’m not somebody who has been addicted to a particular kind of journey in public office,” the American University law professor said.
Todd E. Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said Raskin’s highly-watched and well-regarded prosecution of Trump opens up “a whole world of opportunity” for him.
“He is easily the most well-known member of the Maryland congressional delegation,” he said. “He now has a national profile, so if he decided he wanted to run for senator or governor, I think those are very real opportunities for him.”
Raskin did say that he would run for a fourth term in the U.S. House in 2022 — and he pledged to support Democratic candidates around the country.
“I will be doing whatever I can to defend and expand the Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate,” he said. “As soon as we really can start to travel again, I will be traveling.”
Bruce DePuyt
Reporter
Bruce DePuyt is a contributor to Maryland Matters, where he was a full-time reporter until December 2022. Previously, DePuyt spent nearly three decades on local television, including 14 years as producer and host of “NewsTalk” on NewsChannel 8 in the Washington, D.C., region. He was a reporter and anchor on “News 21” in Montgomery, where he also served as producer and host of “21 This Week.” He then became a reporter and anchor at NBC affiliate WVIR in Charlottesville, Va. He appears occasionally on WTOP (103.5 FM), WAMU (88.5 FM) and MPT.
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