Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) appears to be at the top of the shortlist for a key spot on the powerful House Oversight Committee.
The leftist firebrand told POLITICO on Friday there have been “conversations” about her being picked as vice ranking member, but she stressed “nothing’s been finalized.”
If she were chosen for the No. 2 position, Ocasio-Cortez would become the lieutenant to ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and play a leading role in setting the course for Democrats to counter GOP plans to investigate various aspects of the Biden administration.
Because Raskin is undergoing cancer treatment, his deputy could take on more responsibility, including sitting in for the ranking member for hearings during any absences. However, a Democratic aide insisted to POLITICO that any member can sit in for the ranking member.
“I have the greatest admiration for her skill, and I’m sure we’re going to be able to deploy her to maximum effect on the committee, along with all these other amazing new members,” Raskin said of Ocasio-Cortez, who is in her third term.
Party aides told the news outlet that Democrats on the panel are expected to meet on Monday to hash out their plan for the next two years. The report said the meeting could be used to finalize leadership positions. It also noted how Ocasio-Cortez previously served as Raskin’s vice chairwoman on the oversight subcommittee on civil rights issues, which fostered a “close relationship” that “fueled some speculation among some Democrats” about such a dynamic being repeated as Raskin ascended to the top minority party spot on the full committee.
Already there are hearings being scheduled for next week. One is set to take place on Wednesday and is titled, “Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse.”
Among the other Democrats picked to be on the House Oversight Committee for this nascent session of Congress are Reps. Ro Khanna (CA), Katie Porter (CA), Cori Bush (MO), and Dan Goldman (NY).
“I’m very excited to welcome these extraordinary new members of our Committee, whose remarkable experiences and gifts will soon be known to the whole country.”
—RM @RepRaskin welcoming the newest @OversightDems
Full statement: https://t.co/CI7CHO0Z0q pic.twitter.com/HO0R6PF0jn
— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) January 26, 2023
The Republicans are led by Chairman James Comer (R-KY). Their members will include Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) and Paul Gosar (AZ), both of whom were selected this month for committee assignments after being removed from their seats in flashes of controversy during the last session of Congress, as well as Lauren Boebert (CO).
In anticipation of fiery confrontations with his Democratic counterparts over the next couple of years, Comer told Axios that the oversight panel is “probably the most exciting committee” in congressional history.
Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Friday that she thinks she is going to “have a lot of fun on this committee.” Democrats will have the “opportunity and platform to de-legitimize a lot of the disinformation that they’ve been advancing,” she added.
Story cited here.
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