John Dingell to Retire After Nearly 60 Years in Congress

Ashley Parker, reporting for The New York Times:

Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat of Michigan and the longest-serving member of Congress in history, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election at the end of his current term.

Mr. Dingell’s retirement, first announced by Detroit newspapers and confirmed by Democratic leadership aides, will come at the end of this year — the end of his 29th full term — and represents the end of a historic tenure in the House that began in 1955. That year, Mr. Dingell, at the age of 29, succeeded his father after he died.

Think about that career: he started in Congress during the first term of the Eisenhower administration. This short video interview is good too, albeit rather depressing regarding his views on the ever-growing influence of money in politics.

Update: Philip Klein on the span of Dingell’s career:

Dingell was elected in the year Marty McFly visited his parents and final term ends in the year McFly travels to the future to save his kids.

★ Monday, 24 February 2014