Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Forward 50 2014

Henry Waxman

Stepping down after nearly 40 years in Congress, Henry Waxman will also be leaving behind his unofficial title — dean of Jewish congressional Democrats.

Waxman announced earlier this year that he would not run for a 21st term, ending at the age of 75 one of the most prolific political careers on Capitol Hill. The congressman from Los Angeles has made his mark as an activist legislator who took on almost every liberal cause, helping to improve health care and air quality, and to ensure government accountability. Waxman was known by his colleagues and by his rivals to be a tough lawmaker, doggedly pursuing issues until change took place.

It was Jewish values, Waxman said, that guided him to take action on human rights and social justice issues. As the senior Jewish Democrat in the House of Representatives, Waxman tried at times to consolidate the unofficial Jewish caucus around joint causes. His retirement coincides with that of several other Jewish lawmakers, leading to a new Congress with the lowest number of Jewish members in years and potentially less communal influence.

His final role in Congress, as the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, put Waxman back in a position of power on climate change, one of his top concerns. But even the veteran politician from California could do little to move legislative stalemate on this issue.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.