Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), who entered Congress in 2019 as a powerful voice for the progressive Democratic minority, is weighing a bid for ranking member on the House Oversight Committee — a panel where bipartisanship and an ability to work with both establishment and liberal lawmakers of her own party will be a necessity.
Ocasio-Cortez is one of several members interested in challenging long-standing ranking members or seeking an open seat to become the top Democrat on various committees as a looming GOP trifecta is set to take power in January.
The New York Democrat, whose once fiery progressive nature has shifted toward the center-left during her terms in the House, said these party-wide, committee leadership switch-ups are part of a “generational change” in the wake of the 2024 elections.
“I think what we’ve seen in terms of the leadership of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries, how having a facilitated shift and evolution in our leadership, while we also have the continued leadership of emeritus positions, has been very strong and an enormous asset to the caucus,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Wednesday.
The results of the 2024 election highlighted a generational divide between the older establishment of the party and the newer generation of lawmakers like Ocasio Cortez: well versed in social media and unafraid to go toe to toe with their colleagues both across the aisle and within the Democratic Party.
Last month, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) challenged Democratic Policy and Communications Committee chair Debbie Dingell (D-MI) to become head of the Democrats’ campaign messaging arm. Though Crockett lost, her candidacy signaled that younger members are seeking to move the party forward by bringing in fresh blood following their narrow loss to Republicans for control of the chamber.
The Oversight Committee ranking member race is even more contentious now after Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, announced Wednesday he would not seek another term in the position. With Nadler bowing out and endorsing Raskin, it gives him a clear path to lead Democrats on the committee.
If Ocasio-Cortez announces her candidacy, she will join Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) in the race for Oversight Committee ranking member. Other speculated candidates are Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA)
Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) was previously considered to be in the mix, but indicated he was not interested in the position Wednesday night.
“I’m very happy being the ranker on the select subcommittee on the CCP,” Krishnamoorthi told Axios.
At 35, Ocasio-Cortez is one of the youngest members of Congress and would be one of the youngest committee leaders in the 119th Congress should she replace Raskin as ranking member.
Currently, Ocasio-Cortez serves as the vice ranking member of the Oversight Committee, telling the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that she is “looking at” mounting a bid. On Wednesday morning, she said she did not have a timeline for making a decision but that it would be “soon.”
Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday her years of experience under current Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), as well as former Democratic chairs Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), put her in a unique position to tackle the job.
The congresswoman said she is skilled at marrying the “institutional expertise” of the committee with modern ways to educate the public — a common theme among younger lawmakers entering leadership positions and looking to boost the party’s connection to new generations.
The New York Democrat believes her work assisting Raskin in leading Democrats on the committee for the last two years has prepared her to take on the role, telling reporters her goal is to use the committee as a “substantive and communicative platform.”
“Ranking member Raskin and I have been laying out a strategy over the last two years that has been particularly effective in that committee at really being able to wrestle back, not just the power of the committee, especially given the fact that we’re the minority when it’s especially difficult to do that, but we’ve also been able to affirmatively advance our priorities,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters.
“I think, given the tremendous amount of work and groundwork that we’ve laid out in the last two years, and how important it’s going to be to continue and deepen that work, given the incoming Trump administration, that’s something that’s like very much weighing heavily on me,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez said she’s spoken to many members of the caucus, including House Democratic leadership and several have reached out to her in return to offer support. She declined to offer details on the specifics of her conversations, but she said members are “aware” of her interest in challenging Connolly for the position.
Many of Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow Oversight Democrats are declining, for now, to take sides between her and Connolly. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a vocal member of the House Oversight Committee, told the Washington Examiner he has love for both Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez.
“Let them decide who’s running and then I’ll figure out where I’m gonna be,” Moskowitz said.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), another House Oversight member who is running for chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told the Washington Examiner that Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez are both “great members” but he wouldn’t take a position on who to support until the caucus as a whole decided theirs.
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), a House Oversight member who became the first “Gen Z” member of leadership in November, told the Washington Examiner that Ocasio-Cortez would be “amazing” — not just for progressives but for the entire caucus.
“We’ve been whipping them every single turn, and not just that, but we really need someone who’s going to be bold and who’s going to really hold these folks to account,” Frost said. “I mean, Oversight Committee is one of the few committees where we can really do that, so I think she’d be great.”
If Ocasio-Cortez is selected to lead Democrats, she will have to work closely with Rep. James Comer (R-KY). Despite vast ideological differences, Comer and Raskin worked well together on certain issues, including the attempted assassination of Trump.
Other committees are facing leadership challenges, as well. Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA) and Angie Craig (D-MN) are running to unseat Rep. David Scott (D-GA) as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. The ranking member will be the Democrats’ voice next year on important legislation such as the farm bill, which will expire at the year’s end.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) launched a bid to replace Natural Resources Committee ranking member Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), but Grijalva elected to bow out. Huffman will have a clear path to be the highest Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee unless Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) decides to hop into the race.
Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA), who was elected Wednesday to serve as first vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said he and the caucus are focused on pushing for the “absolute best person” to serve in a role, and seniority will be just “one of the many criteria” in how committees leadership assignments are decided.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA), who will help preside over the committee races, said leadership has been in touch with all of the members interested in these positions and are “confident” they will get the right set of leaders, “whatever the results.”
Aguilar said he and the current leadership team are living examples of generational shifts.
“The vice chair and I are here and we continue with Leader Jeffries, Whip [Katherine] Clark — we stand on the shoulders of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, and the prior leadership team, as well,” Aguilar said at a Wednesday press conference.
“It’s going to take a Democratic caucus who is firing on all cylinders to push back against extremism and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to carry forward the bipartisan principles that we’ve talked about,” Aguilar added. “We want to make sure that the right voices — the caucus wants to make sure that the right folks are leading these committees.”
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Frost said the idea of getting new voices in leadership is important, especially after the 2024 election where Democrats saw working-class voters trending away in red and blue states alike.
“Democrats slipped with working-class people in this last election. And so putting working class people up for new positions of leadership, people understand it’s really important,” Frost said.
