Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior U.S. senator, says he’ll be moving back to Vermont after next year, leaving his seat open for the first time in seven terms.
“It’s time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on the work for this great state,” he said. “It’s time to come home.”
Commentators say his departure will mark the end of an era in Washington. He’s now the longest-serving senator, and the last of a class known as the “Watergate Babies,” elected as Richard Nixon fled town with the dogs of impeachment hot on his trail.
