Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faced a potentially fatal setback in her bid to be ranking member on the powerful House Oversight Committee on Monday, Axios reported.
According to the report, the Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee "voted to recommend Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, several sources familiar with the vote told Axios. It's a huge blow to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) hopes of leading the high-profile panel."
While the House Democratic caucus has the final say on the matter, it rarely declines to ratify the Steering Committee's recommendations.
The committee, whose previous ranking Democrat was Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, plays a critical role in initiating major investigations of government officials.
Ocasio-Cortez, a young and outspoken progressive lawmaker, pitched herself as fresh blood for the committee, in contrast to Connolly, a 74-year-old who has been elected nine times.
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The Democratic Party in general has grappled with the transition of leadership to a younger generation for the past few years, a process that began with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stepping aside to give the Democratic leadership role to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). In other committees, relatively younger challengers have won, Axios noted.
"Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), 52, defeated 79-year-old Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), 72, to lead the Agriculture panel," the outlet noted.
But Pelosi, who still commands a great deal of respect within the caucus despite exiting leadership, reportedly led a campaign from behind the scenes to sideline Ocasio-Cortez's bid in favor of Connolly.
Ocasio-Cortez has not backed down from her candidacy in response to the vote, taking to Bluesky to say, "We can do this. Tomorrow is the day. Do not give up early. Do not be discouraged! A close vote is what we needed here and that’s what we got. Stay POSITIVE and PRAYERFUL and I will be working."
For his part, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) actually seemed to welcome Ocasio-Cortez's candidacy, saying, "Obviously, I don't agree with very much of her policy, but I think she's a good person, I think she's very well spoken. I did not have a good relationship with Jamie Raskin – I don't think that's any secret."
This prompted outrage from some far-right MAGA pundits against him.
