Rep. Jamie Raskin, a prominent member of the Jan. 6 committee and a former Trump impeachment manager, announced Wednesday that he's been diagnosed with cancer.
“After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer," Raskin, D-Md., said in a statement, adding that he'll undergo "a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis."
Raskin, 60, was elected last week by his fellow Democrats to be the ranking member on the Oversight and Reform Committee when the new Congress is sworn in next week.
“I expect to be able to work through this period but have been cautioned by my doctors to reduce unnecessary exposure to avoid COVID-19, the flu and other viruses," Raskin said. "Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment."
Several colleagues offered their support as Raskin begins treatment.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., on Twitter called Raskin "a national treasure—an oasis of legal integrity and intellect at a time when both are desperately needed in democracy’s defense," adding: "I am praying for his strong and swift recovery as he undergoes cancer treatment. America needs you, Jamie."
On Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — an outspoken critic of Democrats in general and the Jan. 6 committee in particular — offered her best wishes to Raskin.
"We disagree often, but I’ll be praying for Jamie Raskin. Cancer is a terrible disease. I watched my father die from it, and it broke my heart. It’s good Rep Raskin has hope and his form of cancer is curable with the treatment he will be starting," she tweeted.
Raskin responded, thanking Greene for the "touching message."
"I’m grateful for your concern and very sorry to learn that you lost your father to cancer. Wishing you happy holidays with loved ones," he wrote.
Raskin's diagnosis comes almost two years to the day after the death of his 25-year-old son, Thomas "Tommy" Bloom Raskin, by suicide. An obituary posted online by Raskin and his wife said that their son had a "perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously outrageous and relentless sense of humor" but that he was “tortured” by a “blindingly painful and merciless ‘disease called depression.’"
Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who represents Maryland's 8th Congressional District in the Washington suburbs, was an impeachment manager in former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. He was elected to a fourth term in November, winning 80% of the vote.