Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launches bid to lead Democrats on House Oversight Committee
Washington — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York launched her bid Friday to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee as the party looks to replace its veteran leaders on several key panels.
"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," the New York Democrat wrote in a letter to colleagues on Friday.
"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," she added.
While Democrats will remain in the minority when the new Congress convenes next month, a victory would place Ocasio-Cortez in line to chair the powerful Oversight Committee if Democrats retake the House in 2026, halfway through President-elect Donald Trump's term. The committee led numerous investigations into the first Trump administration after Democrats won the House in 2018.
Her candidacy sets up a challenge against Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who is also seeking to fill Rep. Jamie Raskin's position. Raskin, of Maryland, is leaving the post and angling to be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the longtime Democratic leader of the Judiciary Committee, ended his bid to continue leading the panel after Raskin announced his challenge.
There's also an effort to replace the aging Democrats atop the House Agriculture Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York hasn't given a public endorsement or condemnation of the committee shakeups, but told reporters Friday that "the caucus is working its will, and we're doing it in a cordial fashion."