‘There's No One That Doesn't Love Steny'; Official Maryland Reacts To Hoyer's Retirement

By William J. Ford, Maryland Matters

January 9, 2026

Lisa Bianco was a campaign staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) from 2006 to 2012, when he was House Majority Leader, and said trying to introduce him to new people at that time posed a unique challenge.

“I used to joke that it was really hard to staff him because I’d run up and say, ‘Mr. Hoyer, I want to introduce you to so-and-so,’ and he’d say ‘Oh, of course I know them,’” said Bianco, who now works with the lobbying firm Perry Jacobson.

“He connects so well with people and it’s because it’s genuine, and it’s because he really cares about them,” she said. “He’s really invested in them, and he really is a true public servant.”

Hers was one of the many stories about Hoyer that came from Maryland’s political and community leaders Thursday after he announced from the floor of the House that he will not seek reelection this year to a 24th term in Congress. They remembered a friend, a mentor, a colleague, a dedicated public servant and a natural politician who left his stamp on state and national politics in a 60-year career.

Former Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md), whose working relationship with Hoyer dates back to 1967 when they were both in the General Assembly, called him a “loyal friend” and a decent card player in Hearts, but said one of Hoyer’s most important roles is mentor.

“We have so many new members in the Maryland Congressional delegation. He wanted to be able to help them as they started their congressional careers,” Cardin said. “Steny gives of himself every moment. And is effective in representing his people and in doing a lot of really good things. That’s a combination that’s going to be hard to duplicate.”

Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd) knows that from first-hand experience. Elfreth was a one-time intern in Hoyer’s office, but said she still relied on him when she became a colleague this year.

“He’s been someone I can consistently turn to, especially [during] tough moments and tough days on the floor,” Elfreth said. “I won’t know how to react or feel about the chaos down here, and I can find him on the floor, sit down and get his take on it. And inevitably, he has seen, in his six-decade career, something similar happen.”

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), said in a social media post it would take “an entire novel” to summarize the congressman’s impact on the 5th district. In an interview Thursday, Alsobrooks recalled Hoyer was the first phone call she got after her 2010 victory as Prince George’s County state’s attorney.

“Someone handed me a phone and said, ‘You have a phone call.’ And it was the first call I received that night, and it was Steny Hoyer calling to congratulate me,” Alsobrooks said. “And from there, he has told me, any time you put your name up for office, I’m going to be there to support you.”

Hoyer was also the first person to suggest that Alsobrooks should seek federal office, about eight years ago.

“He was the person who called me on a Saturday, had me come meet him in an office, and said: ‘You know what, I think you should consider federal office,’” Alsobrooks said. “No one had ever said that to me before.”

When House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) served on the College Park City Council from 2003-06, the city was still part of Hoyer’s 5th District.

“He’s someone that is highly respected, loved by all of us. Someone that has delivered for Maryland, has brought resources that are present in the community,” Peña-Melnyk said during an interview in her office in Annapolis. “There’s no one that doesn’t love Steny. He’s so charismatic. A hard worker, and has put Maryland on the map.”

‘A citizen again’

Hoyer’s influence in Maryland politics began in 1966 at age 27 after winning a seat in the state Senate. Nine years later, he became the youngest president in that chamber.

He was elected to the House in a special election in 1981 to represent the district that currently includes portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties and all three Southern Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s.

During that time, he rose to serve as No. 2 Democrat in the House.

‘We must respect and love one another’: Steny Hoyer tells the US House he’s retiring

During that time, he also had a hand in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for the Affordable Care Act and helping former President Joe Biden (D) get the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.

“We would not have the Americans with Disabilities Act without Steny Hoyer. We would not have the Affordable Care Act without him helping Speaker Pelosi whip those votes. We wouldn’t have the Democratic Caucus as it is, without a Steny Hoyer,” Elfreth said.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in a statement that “Steny Hoyer’s fingerprints have been on countless pieces of historic policy achievements.” His impact on the 5th District is unmistakable, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

“If you sort of drive through his congressional district and look out both sides of the window, you’re going to see something that Steny Hoyer helped make happen,” Van Hollen said.

One of Hoyer’s top achievements for Maryland was leading the effort to get the General Services Administration to relocate the aging FBI headquarters from Washington, D.C., to a site in Greenbelt, after 10 years of studies and battling Virginia officials who wanted the headquarters built in Springfield, Virginia.

But that achievement is in peril after President Donald Trump (R) announced last year that FBI headquarters, and its 6,000 employees, would stay in downtown Washington, D.C. A Republican-controlled Senate committee approved a resolution in October to help make it happen.

About a week later in November, Hoyer joined Gov. Wes Moore (D), Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) and others to announce the state had sued the administration to stop an action that would “unlawfully sabotage a multiyear collaborative effort” to relocate the facility to Greenbelt.

Hoyer said in an interview Thursday he will continue to challenge the Trump administration over the FBI move.

“The reason why the site is being changed has nothing to do with the suitability for the FBI, and everything to do with the animus that the president of the United Sates directs towards the FBI, and frankly towards Prince George’s County,” he said. “I’m going to try keep to convincing my colleagues in Congress that a short-term political decision is harmful in this case.”

Thursday’s announcement by Hoyer, 86, follows a similar announcement by 85-year-old Pelosi, the Baltimore-born Democrat who has represented California in the House for more than three decades. Pelosi will also step down at the end of her term in January 2027.

During part of his 10-minute speech, Hoyer choked up a few times. He had a quick reply when asked what brought that on.

“The past 65 years,” he said. “I have been involved in an enterprise that I really enjoy. I love the interface with the public. I love the interface with the fellow members of the state Senate, or state Board of Higher Education, or the Congress of the United States.”

Hoyer continued: “I love working on behalf of communities and people to try to make their lives better and make the communities more successful. When you’re ending that and walking into a much slower pace of life, which my wife is going to enjoy. It was emotional. When you do something for a long time and you like it, and you decide to walk away voluntarily … it has an emotional tug on you.”

Hoyer remarried a few years ago to Brookings Institution senior fellow Elaine Kamarck. Judith P. Hoyer, his first wife of more than 30 years, for whom early childhood centers around Maryland are named “Judy Centers,” died of stomach cancer in 1997. The pair had three children.

“I’m really happy for him – the fact that he gets to be a citizen again, that he gets to sleep in and spend time with his grandkids and rest after six decades of service,” Elfreth said. “You know, I don’t think Marylanders appreciate just how much criss-crossing the country Steny did over those decades to elect Democrats across the country. I mean, just tireless travel and work.”