Showing posts with label Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson announces retirement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson announces retirement. Show all posts

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson announces retirement after almost 30 years in Congress

Longtime U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, announced Saturday she is not running for reelection after serving nearly three decades in Congress.

First elected to Congress in 1992, Johnson, 85, is among its most senior members — the longest-serving member from Texas — and serves as dean of the Texas delegation. She chairs the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

A former state legislator, Johnson is known for breaking barriers. She was the first Black woman ever elected to public office in Dallas when she won a state House seat in 1972. She went on to become the first registered nurse to ever serve in Congress.

Speaking Saturday surrounded by family, Johnson emphasized her longtime advocacy for funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the city's public transit agency, calling it "my baby from the first day that I got there." She also highlighted her role in helping flip Dallas County for Democrats in 2006.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done because there is no Texan in the history of this state who has brought more home," Johnson said, reflecting on how she had to work across party lines during long stretches in the minority. "As much as we trash the names of some of the Republicans. they were some of the same ones that helped me be successful."

The decision Johnson announced Saturday is consistent with what she told constituents in 2019 — that her current term would be her last.