Watch: Sen. Dick Durbin full speech at DNC convention
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., addressed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin is retiring at the end of next year after more than four decades in Washington in a move that also will set off a leadership fight among his colleagues in the Senate Democratic caucus.
“The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,” the 80-year-old Durbin said in a video posted on April 23 to social media.
Durbin, the longtime second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1996 after spending 14 years in the House. He is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., commented quickly on the announcement.
“Dick Durbin has been more than a colleague—he’s been a trusted partner, one of the most respected voices in the Senate for decades, my dear friend, and, of course, my former roommate,” Schumer said in a statement.