WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The longest-serving member of the U.S. Congress called it quits after 58 years in office Monday, drawing the curtain on a career that began before President Barack Obama was born.
John Dingell, 87, told attendees at a chamber of commerce lunch in Michigan that the “time has come” for him to step down.
His not seeking a 30th term in November means next year will mark the first time since 1933 that there will be no Dingell in the House of Representatives.
The Democrat won his father’s seat after John Dingell Snr. died in office.
“I’m not going to be carried out feet first,” Dingell told the Detroit News. “I don’t want people to say I stayed too long.”
Dingell became the longest-serving U.S. lawmaker last June when he began his 20,997th day in office, breaking a record set by the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Obama hailed the congressman as “one of the most influential legislators of all time.”
“John risked his seat to support the Civil Rights Act of 1964, fought to pass Medicare in 1965, and penned legislation like the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act that have kept millions of Americans healthy and preserved our natural beauty for future generations,” Obama said.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
