AOC Launches Bid to Be Ranking Member of House Oversight Committee

WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has jumped into the race to become the ranking member of the powerful House Oversight Committee, a role that could provide her with a high profile perch from which to critique the incoming Trump administration.

The move by the third term lawmaker is the latest in a post-election shuffle among Democrats who have been moving to ease out aging committee leaders in favor of younger lawmakers they believe are better suited to take on President Trump.

The effort became particularly intense late last month as several House Democrats pressed Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to challenge Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., for his position as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

Nadler initially resisted the effort, circulating a memo among his colleagues that said in part,
“As a New Yorker, I have stood up to Donald Trump my entire career.”

But once Raskin launched his bid to become the top Democrat on the panel, Nadler saw the writing on the wall and dropped out of the race and threw his support behind his colleague from Maryland.

Raskin’s decision opened the door to other Democrats to seek his former position as ranking member of the Oversight Committee.

Ocasio-Cortez is challenging Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who is 39 years her senior and has twice run for ranking member of Oversight but lost both times.

Others reportedly considering a run are Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who is 48, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who is 51.

In a letter to her colleagues, Ocasio-Cortez, who is currently the seventh-ranking Democrat on the panel, said the position is not one she seeks 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,” she wrote. 

“Now, more than ever, we must focus on the committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life.”

Later in the letter, she notes that in the 119th Congress, “Oversight Committee Democrats will face an important task: we must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class. 

“I know firsthand how the majority uses their chaos to confuse, disorient and distract the public’s attention away from their disastrous agenda. We cannot and will not allow that to happen. I will lead by example by always keeping the lives of everyday Americans at the center of our work,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Speaking with reporters after word of the congresswoman’s decision began to circulate on Capitol Hill, Connolly told reporters he remains confident he’ll win, but wished her well.

“We’ll run an honorable race, a civil race, and we’ll be friends at the beginning and friends at the end,” he said.

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