President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive electoral victory has Democrats rethinking their leadership, with several high-ranking congressional committee members facing challenges from younger voices.
Each Democrat is arguing that he or she is the right person to take on Trump over the next two years.
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Committee on Natural Resources
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is the current ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources. At age 76, he will try to fend off a challenge from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), 60, who is running an aggressive campaign for the spot.
Huffman wrote in his letter announcing his challenge, “With the shock wave of Trump’s ‘First 100 Days’ agenda about to slam into our committees, effective committee work led by our ranking members will be critical.”
He has also reportedly pushed memos that boast how he has outperformed Grijalva in fundraising for the last six consecutive cycles. Huffman has been in office since 2013, outraising Grijalva by about $450,000 in 2024.
Grijalva was endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday. CHC Chair Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA) said the 76-year-old “is more than ready to lead the House Natural Resources Democrats as they take on a Trump Administration and Republican majority” given his experience taking on the last Trump administration.
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House Agriculture Committee
Rep. David Scott (D-GA), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, is facing a challenge from Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA) and Angie Craig (D-MN). Scott will turn 80 in June, while Costa is 72 and Craig is 52.
Costa has been in office since 2005. He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee in addition to Agriculture. Craig is a newer member of Congress, having been first elected in 2018, but has managed to maintain the seat despite it being a swing district. She serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group focused on pro-business and innovation-oriented policies.
Costs argued that Trump’s return necessitates a Democratic leader “who will fight to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), defend the historic investments we made through the Inflation Reduction Act and bring a strong Democratic message back to rural America” in a letter announcing his challenge.
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In Craig’s letter, she expressed “worry that too many rural Americans don’t trust that Democrats have their best interests at heart.”
Scott’s health has come into question during his most recent Congressional term, with some Democrats questioning his decision to run for office in 2024, let alone as ranking member of the committee.
“David Scott is Exhibit A for term limits,” one Democratic lawmaker told Politico. “He was a respected, talented member who has become diminished. And it’s painful for people to watch.”
House Judiciary Committee
Perhaps most consequentially, dozens of Democrats have reportedly been privately pressuring 61-year-old Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to challenge 77-year-old Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. According to the New York Times, they worry Nadler will be ineffective in delivering pushback against Trump’s agendas.
“As a New Yorker, I have stood up to Donald Trump my entire career,” Nadler wrote in a letter announcing his bid to maintain his spot as ranking member. “When he became president, I led the Judiciary Committee’s efforts to hold him accountable for his various abuses of power, culminating in two historic impeachments.”
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He claimed “the fabric of our democracy is threatened” by the incoming Trump administration and the “MAGA majority.”
Raskin has not officially announced his candidacy for ranking member, but as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee he has been a vocal opponent of Trump and his agenda. He has served in the House since 2017, was the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment trial, and played a prominent role on the January 6 committee. He is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, and serves on the House Judiciary Committee in addition to Oversight.
