Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reportedly said his new term beginning next month likely will be his final one in the upper chamber of Congress.
The 83-year-old progressive former presidential candidate was reelected last month to his fourth Senate term.
"I'm 83 now. I'll be 89 when I get out of here," Sanders told Politico. "You can do the figuring. I don't know, but I would assume, probably, yes."
Sanders has been the face of progressive politics in Washington, D.C., for many years.
Just Wednesday, he forced an effort in the Senate to block the sale of some offensive weapons to Israel for its war in Gaza over mounting civilian deaths there. His colleagues voted 18-79 to defeat a resolution he introduced.
Sanders served eight House terms before being elected to the Senate in 2006. He ran for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.
After President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November presidential election, Sanders criticized Democrats for abandoning working-class people.
"The average American is hurting," he told Politico. "You've got to recognize the reality of what's going on. And I'm not sure that enough Democrats are doing that."
He added that even the more than 100 members of Congress' Progressive Caucus do not understand how the party should proceed.
"Some do and some don't," he said of the caucus he and five other members founded in 1991.
"Dozens of them are really strong progressives who share my perspectives."
With the GOP taking control of the Senate in the new Congress, Sanders will lose his position as chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
He told Politico he hopes to return to the chair if Democrats can retake control of the Senate in 2026.
"We are the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all of its people," he told the outlet. "And we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. My vision is pretty clear as to where we have to go."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.