U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the veteran progressive congresswoman who has represented New York’s 7th Congressional District for more than three decades, announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection next year.

Velázquez, who is 72 years old and was first elected in 1993, called for a new generation of the Democratic Party to step forward.

“There is still so much work to be done, and I feel the urgency of this moment every day. Our country faces crises on multiple fronts. Every day the Trump administration is working to undermine civil rights and our democracy,” Velázquez said in a statement, “At the same time, the American Dream is slipping further away for working people as wealth inequality worsens and life becomes less affordable. But I believe in the resiliency of the American

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