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House Democrats on Tuesday voted for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) to become the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, electing him to the key position by a vote of 131-84 over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who was also vying for the role.
House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee voted Monday night to recommend Connolly — who is 74 years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer — for the spot. The move was a hit for the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez, but she pressed on with her candidacy.
The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee —which is headed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y) — voted 34 for Connolly and 27 for Ocasio-Cortez on Monday, and the caucus clearly took its recommendation to heart.
The race has been part of a larger push by younger Democrats to replace veteran lawmakers at the top of committees. Ocasio-Cortez would have become the youngest Democrat to lead a House committee if the vote had gone her way on Tuesday.
On Monday, Rep.Angie Craig(D-Minn.), 52, bested Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.), 79, and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), 72, to lead the Agriculture Committee.
“This is not a position I seek lightly,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a letter earlier this month in a bid to colleagues. “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. 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.”
Connolly, however, reportedly has a powerful ally. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been gathering support for the 74-year-old candidate behind the scenes. Last week, when speaking to the National Catholic Reporter, Pelosi said that she is backing “newer members who are running for office,” adding, “This is with all the respect in the world for the chairmen who had been there and the contribution that they had made over time. But now others have come forward, and I respect the fact that they’re ready to take charge of their committees, and I support that.”
When speaking to Rolling Stone in September, Pelosi discussed her own decision to step down from the speakership and knowing when to pass the torch. Earlier this month, however, she made it clear she would support Connolly — who announced in November that he was diagnosed with esophagus cancer but has begun treatment — for the top seat. While Pelosi told Politico she wasn’t certain on who would be in the Oversight race at the time, she has “supported Mr. Connolly for that, should it be open.”
