Sen. Durbin announces he won’t seek re-election

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election in 2026. Currently ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he has served in the Senate since 1997 and served in the House before that. 

“Senator Dick Durbin has served the people of Illinois and the United States for more than four decades. While we strongly disagree with Sen. Durbin on interchange legislation, and will continue to oppose it, we recognize his willingness to engage with credit unions on other industry priorities,” said America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle. 

America’s Credit Unions’ legacy organizations strongly opposed his amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act capping debit interchange fees, including supporting efforts to repeal it. According to a study by the Richmond Federal Reserve, retailers failed to pass along the resulting savings for consumers, instead keeping most of the estimated $32 billion for themselves. 

Credit unions also worked to prevent Durbin’s “big box bailout bill” from moving forward in the previous two Congresses. The legislation would have extended the same caps to debit card interchange fees.