Tom Lantos Diagnosed With Cancer, Retiring

California Democrat Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has announced he is retiring after being diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. Lantos has been a passionate defender of human rights while serving in the House, and the only Holocaust survivor serving anywhere in Congress. Unsurprisingly, he has been a particularly early and vocal Congressional leader on Darfur.

Via Kos, who had been supporting a primary challenge against Lantos due to his relatively-hawkish foreign policy views. I hope that, with his impending retirement, we can put aside differences over Iraq and respect his years of public service and his amazing life story (and of course, wish him a full recovery).