House Dem Gerry Connolly Announces Cancer Has Returned, Won’t Seek Reelection: ‘Sun Is Setting on My Time in Public Service’
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo)
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has made the heartbreaking announcement that his cancer has returned, and he will not seek reelection as a result.
Connolly, 75, will also step away from his duties as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
“After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned,” Connolly said in a statement posted to social media Monday. “I’ll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace.”
Connolly first announced he had esophageal cancer in November 2024, saying he would be seeking chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
“Cancer can be tough. But so am I. I will attack this the only way I know how – with Irish fight and humor,” Connolly said in a statement at the time.
The Boston-born Connolly was first elected to Congress in 2008, serving Virginia’s 11th district for nine terms. He had previously spent 14 years on the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, according to his website bio.
Connolly was a regular critic of the Trump administration during hearings and on TV.
Last year, he was among Democrats moving to name a federal penitentiary after President Donald Trump, saying it was “the only honor he truly deserves.”
In 2018, he called on Fox News to fire top personality Sean Hannity after Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, admitted he gave Hannity legal advice the year before.
