A recent court ruling, which tossed out Pennsylvania's congressional map, influenced Rep. Robert Brady’s decision not to run for reelection. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo Rep. Robert Brady not running for reelection

Rep. Robert Brady, a longtime powerhouse in Philadelphia Democratic politics, announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to the House.

Brady has represented south Philadelphia in Congress since 1998, but he has long had a ruling hand in the city’s politics, serving as chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party for more than 30 years.


The old-school politician and party boss — known in Congress as a fixer and backroom dealmaker — has been dogged by questions about retirement in recent months amid a federal probe into allegations his campaign paid a primary challenger to drop out in 2012. But Brady cited a desire to spend more time with his family — not the investigation — as his reason for stepping down.

“I love my job, I love my district, and most of all, I love the people I have served,” Brady said in a staff announcement obtained by POLITICO and later released publicly.

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

A recent court ruling, which tossed out the state's congressional map, also influenced Brady's decision not to run for reelection. Brady, who first confirmed his retirement with The Philadelphia Inquirer, told the paper in an interview that he plans to remain as local party chairman but he doesn't want that position to affect the map-drawing, potentially affecting two other Democratic congressmen based in Philadelphia: Reps. Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle.

"I don't want to be disingenuous and wait for the lines to be drawn and then decide not to run," Brady told The Inquirer. "To be honest with you, are they trying to favor me? Absolutely they're trying to favor me. There's a lot of [potential] maps that have just two congressmen in Philadelphia."

The 11-term congressman has denied any wrongdoing in the federal corruption investigation, and the statute of limitations for several of the charges Brady could have faced has since expired.

Still, two of Brady’s close aides were charged in the probe, and the case has continued to hang over the congressman since it came to light last year. People close to Brady insisted as recently as a few weeks ago that he was running for reelection, saying he didn’t want to retire with the cloud of the investigation looming.

But Brady says the corruption case did not determine his departure.

“I’ve got a complete bill of health from the federal government,” Brady told the Inquirer. “They told my attorney I am not being charged. They told my attorney in November. No deal was made.”

Before his exit announcement, Brady had already attracted several Democratic primary challengers, including Nina Ahmad, a former Philadelphia deputy mayor partially self-funding a bid against Brady. Ahmad, who has often criticized Brady for not being progressive enough, ended 2017 with $564,000 in cash on hand.

Michele Lawrence, an African-American minister and former bank executive, is also considering a run.

The uncertainty surrounding the congressional map means Brady's would-be successors may not even have a district in which to run, however.

“Because of what’s happening with redistricting, I don’t think one can even venture who might replace him," said Larry Ceisler, a Philadelphia-based consultant. "There’s a scenario that would write out his seat altogether: Compress the city of Philadelphia into two seats, which would give Montgomery County, the third-largest county, its own seat.”

Brady’s retirement will also shake up the House Democratic Caucus. He’s an ally of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a leader of the “Pennsylvania corner,” a close-knit group of Northeastern Democrats who have been crucial to her success and power within the caucus.

Pelosi, in a statement Wednesday after Brady's retirement announcement, called Brady a “forceful champion for working people.”

“My colleagues and I will always consider Congressman Brady to be our beloved ‘Mayor of Capitol Hill’ and will miss his steadfast leadership and his friendship,” Pelosi said.

Brady’s departure will leave a vacancy atop the House Administration Committee, where he currently serves as ranking member and was in line to become chairman next year if Democrats took back the House in November.

The current committee chairman, Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), is also retiring after this year. Harper and Brady have recently worked closely on a bill to overhaul Capitol Hill’s sexual harassment policies amid a string of lawmakers’ retirements and resignations.

Brady’s retirement will also further deplete the seniority of the Pennsylvania delegation, which will see a string of departures ahead of next year.

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) last week announced he was retiring after this term following reports he used taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment case with a former staffer. And former Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) resigned last year after an abortion scandal involving a woman with whom he was romantically involved.

Pennsylvania Republican Reps. Charlie Dent and Bill Shuster are both retiring this year, and Republican Rep. Lou Barletta is leaving his seat to run for Senate. A new congressional map, if drawn by the courts, could scramble the delegation even further.

“Two weeks ago, I spent Saturday and Sunday sitting by myself in my Congressional office, only to watch the Eagles' NFC Championship game alone as I waited for a vote on the floor of the House — a vote that never took place,” Brady said in the statement sent to his staff, referencing the three-day government shutdown earlier this month.

“That weekend I looked back on all the other days and nights where the job came first; where I had to choose public service over family and friends.”