Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, announced he will “soon” step down from his role because of his cancer diagnosis.

He will not seek reelection.

“The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress. I will be stepping back as Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee soon,” Connolly said.

An updated note to my constituents: pic.twitter.com/snhaVQK8iK

— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) April 28, 2025

A closer look:

ABC News reports:

Connolly, 75, who was first elected in 2009, defeated Rep. Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, 35, for the committee chair in December as the younger representative attempted to bring in a new generation of leadership.

Connolly announced he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in November.

“When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency,” he said in his statement Monday. “After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned. I’ll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace.”

Connolly has served on the Oversight Committee since his first term and has led Democrats on the subcommittee on government operations since 2013. He won the chair vote, 131-84, according to multiple Democratic sources, cementing his role in one of the most high-profile positions in Washington to combat the Trump administration and a unified Republican majority in Congress.

BREAKING: Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA)'s cancer has returned, announces his retirement.

"The sun is setting on my time in public service." pic.twitter.com/k7eaymBclU

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 28, 2025

Rep. Gerry Connolly says he won't seek reelection, will step back "soon" as Oversight ranking member https://t.co/ggWDNQPkUm

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 28, 2025

Per Government Executive:

In Trump’s second term, Connolly has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the administration’s efforts to overhaul the federal government. He urged inspectors general who Trump fired to “show up for work in defiance of the unlawful terminations.” Earlier this month, Connolly revealed, based on whistleblower disclosures, that the Department of Government Efficiency is building a single, cross-agency database of sensitive information that may run afoul of privacy law.

Democrats will “fight in every way we can, in the courts, in public opinion, with the bully pulpit and in the halls of Congress,” Connolly said on Feb. 3 to protestors outside of the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration has effectively dismantled.

Every year, Connolly introduces legislation to increase federal employee salaries. He has also been a staunch advocate for improving federal information technology acquisition, co-sponsoring the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act in 2014 and shepherding the biannual FITARA scorecard, which assesses agencies’ IT modernization and acquisition efforts.

Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement that Connolly is a “steadfast public servant who has spent his career serving Northern Virginians with honor and integrity. It’s an honor to serve the American people alongside him and I am rooting for him as he battles cancer once again.”