By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

(CNN) — Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of the New York congressional delegation, has decided not to run for reelection next year, his office told CNN on Monday.

Nadler, 78, told the New York Times in an interview published Monday he was convinced it was time for generational change and that a younger person “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”

He did not discuss who should succeed him, the Times said, but noted that many of his allies might enter the race.

The move comes around a month after Liam Elkind, a 26-year-old Democrat, entered the race for Nadler’s district as a primary challenger. He had pitched his run as “respectfully asking” Nadler, who has been in Congress since 1992, to retire.

“There has to be a way of both honoring the 49-year-political career of someone like Jerry Nadler while asking him to build a bridge to the future,” Elkind told CNN in July.

Elkind praised Nadler in a statement posted to X on Monday evening. “He has led this district and this country with humanity, kindness, and intelligence. We are better for his leadership,” he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also released a statement commending Nadler, describing him as “a champion, a fighter, and a trusted voice for New Yorkers.”

Nadler was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2023.

In 2019, Nadler introduced the first articles of impeachment against Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a Democratic investigation into allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals while withholding US security assistance. The House voted to impeach the president, but in 2020, Trump was acquitted on both articles in a Senate trial.

Nadler also spearheaded the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which bars employment practices that discriminate against reasonable accommodations for employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth or corresponding medical issues. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law in 2022.

Nadler’s district, New York’s 12th Congressional District, includes New York City’s Upper West and Upper East sides as well as Midtown. In 2022, Nadler handily won a primary that pitted him against a fellow incumbent in a redrawn district.

Nadler joins a number of other Democratic lawmakers in Congress who have announced retirements this year. That list includes: Pennsylvania Rep. Dwight Evans and Illinois Reps. Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith have also said that they would not seek reelection.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi and Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.

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