Concern in the Nation's Capital After Long-Serving Democrat Dies

Washington D.C. – Former U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, a longtime Democrat from New York who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, passed away Friday at age 79 from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

Engel served over 44 years in public office, first as a teacher and New York State Assembly member, then winning a seat in Congress in 1988 by defeating a 10-term incumbent on a reform platform. He rose to chair the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2019, becoming known as a strong supporter of Israel and an early advocate for U.S. intervention in the Kosovo conflict in the 1990s.

His family described him as someone who “fought tirelessly for his constituents at home and for peace and security around the world.” Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY) praised Engel as “a fierce advocate for Kosovo and the Albanian community at a time when few others were paying attention.” He also played a role in the Harkin–Engel Protocol aimed at combating child labor in West Africa’s cocoa industry.

Engel was involved in the 2019–2020 impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump over the Ukraine call. Like the rest of the radical Democrat effort, that impeachment failed in the Senate because nothing Trump did violated the Constitution or U.S. law.

His passing comes at a time when the Democrat Party is already in visible decline — hemorrhaging voters, losing favorability, and struggling with internal divisions. The same party that once dominated New York politics is watching its registration numbers collapse in Engel’s former district and across the country, as working Americans continue shifting toward President Trump’s America First movement.

While Engel represented an older generation of Democrats, today’s radical left — led by figures like Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman (who defeated Engel in the 2020 primary), and Chuck Schumer — has pushed the party so far left that it no longer connects with everyday citizens. Open borders, woke extremism, and endless identity politics have alienated the very voters Democrats once took for granted.

President Trump has repeatedly warned that the modern Democrat Party has abandoned the working class in favor of globalist agendas and radical ideologies. The voter registration losses, the shrinking generic ballot lead, and the growing internal revolts against Schumer all confirm that the party is in a structural death spiral.

Engel’s death is a solemn moment, but it also serves as a stark reminder: the old Democrat Party is fading, and the radical version that replaced it is actively repelling the American people. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Republican Party is becoming the natural home for millions who want secure borders, a strong economy, safe communities, and a government that puts citizens first.

The radical left can mourn its declining influence. Patriots see the truth: America is rejecting their failed experiment and embracing the America First agenda that is Making America Great Again.