New York Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez says she won't run for reelection in 2026

New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez — a trailblazer known by the nickname “La Luchadora” or the fighter — announced Thursday that she will retire next year after more than three decades in Congress.

Velázquez, 72, is the second long-serving New York Democrat to say she’ll step aside after Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78, announced in September that he’d exit at the end of his current term.