Former Holmes Norton staffer lines up to run for her seat, as DC delegate faces growing calls to step down
A former senior aide to Democratic Washington, D.C., Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is running to unseat his former boss as pressure grows for her to withdraw from the race.
Trent Holbrook previously served as Norton's senior legislative counsel, and he filed papers to run for her seat on Monday. Washington's seat in Congress is not allowed to vote on legislation, but the representative can introduce legislation.
Holbrook defended his decision to run against his former boss in an interview with The Washington Post.
"I think it’s evident that she’s not going to successfully run," Holbrook told the Post.
"I don’t consider myself to be running against Congresswoman Norton," he added. "If Congresswoman Norton was running a campaign that I thought would win, you know, I wouldn’t be here. But that’s not where we’re at right now."
Many prominent House Democrats have announced they won't seek re-election in 2026, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. Norton, 88, has refused to follow suit, however, despite prominent Democrats calling on her to bow out.
Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chair who also once served as Norton's chief of staff, called on Norton to retire in an op-ed for the Post.
"It’s in her best interest, and the interest of D.C., for her to serve her current term but then end her extraordinary service in Congress and not seek reelection next year," Brazile wrote in September.
Norton has also faced wider criticism about her fitness for office, and her staff repeatedly walked back her public statements about intending to run for office again in 2026.
She was also the victim of a credit card scam in late 2025, where she was convinced to turn over her card information to men posing as HVAC cleaners outside her home. Her office said Norton employs a "home manager" who schedules cleaning and other maintenance, and Norton assumed there had been a cleaning scheduled.