As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumps into the race to be the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, she’s testing how far her colleagues are willing to go as they shake up their leadership structure.
"I write to you today to seek your support to serve as Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the 119th Congress," she wrote in a letter to colleagues. "This is not a position I seek lightly. The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one."
Her official launch means she's challenging Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va), who has already announced he wants to run as the top Democrat of the committee after Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who currently occupies the spot, tossed his hat in for House Judiciary ranking member.
“We talked the other day, and [Ocasio-Cortez] indicated she was headed that way,” said Connolly. “And I said: ‘Great, we'll run an honorable race, a civil race and we'll be friends at the beginning and at the end.’”
The 35-year-old outspoken progressive has long been critical of Democratic leaders and doesn't always align with the rest of her party. But she’s learned to play the inside track in the caucus, working with colleagues and leadership more rather than always using her proverbial megaphone. Raskin named her the vice ranking member of the Oversight Committee earlier this Congress.
In interviews with a half dozen Democrats Friday morning, lawmakers increasingly believed Ocasio-Cortez will enter the race with a sizable bloc of support to become the top Oversight Committee Democrat.
“She’s exactly what the committee needs,” said one lawmaker who didn’t want to formally endorse Ocasio-Cortez before her announcement. “She's phenomenal. She's someone that's gonna take the energy of new members coming in and take on Donald Trump. And I think that’s what we need at this point.”
Her entry into the race is the latest bullet point as Democrats make sweeping changes to the aging leadership of their committees. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is stepping aside as the Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York ended his bid to continue leading Judiciary Committee Democrats and endorsed Raskin, and Rep. David Scott of Georgia is facing tough challenges to keep his job as the top Agriculture Committee Democrat.
The official recommendation on new committee leaders will be made by the Steering and Policy Committee, a powerful and under-the-radar panel that is set to consider exclusive committee appointments like the Ways and Means panel next week, and then the remaining committees the week after. The second batch includes the contested top Democratic spots. The steering panel will first hold a secret ballot vote to recommend a committee leader, then the full caucus will vote on the leadership slot.
House Democratic leaders are staying out of the caucus battles for committee posts, a position some lawmakers believe is their tacit way of endorsing leadership turnover. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Friday "that the caucus is working its will, and we’re doing it in a cordial fashion."
While some lawmakers believe Ocasio-Cortez already has a leg up over Connolly, many Oversight panel members stayed officially neutral. Still, they spoke positively about the leadership shifts.
“There’s a little bit of a generational thing happening in the caucus,” said Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio). “It’s exciting and encouraging.”
Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who were originally seen as possible contenders for the top Oversight spot aren’t likely to mount bids, leaving the race between Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez.
“I'm going to listen to all the arguments here,” Krishnamoorthi said in a brief interview.
Raskin has spoken to both Ocasio-Cortez and Connolly, according to a Democratic member granted anonymity to detail private conversations, but has told colleagues he is remaining officially neutral in the Oversight contest, at least until his own election for Judiciary ranking member takes place.
His endorsement would be a boon to either candidate — the former Trump impeachment manager is beloved within the conference. Raskin and Connolly have served together on Oversight for years, and previously ran against each other for the top spot in 2022. Raskin and Ocasio-Cortez have a close personal relationship.
Connolly and his advocates believe he’s building a broad base of support within the caucus, including with the Black and Hispanic Caucuses, and believe he can defeat Ocasio-Cortez. In a letter to his colleagues earlier this week, Connolly leaned into his willingness to take on Trump and his Republican allies, as Democrats strategize how to combat total GOP control of Congress from the minority.
“Connolly should be in good shape. He has a proven track record. He’s been doing a great job on the Oversight Committee,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO about who he thought could win Oversight competition.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said she wasn’t sure who was officially in the Oversight race yet, “but I have supported Mr. Connolly for that, should it be open.”
