Progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, flopped in her bid to helm the powerful House Oversight Committee, losing to Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, who is foreshadowing political “trench warfare” against the GOP.
Connolly (D-Va.) won the spot in a House Democratic caucus vote Tuesday, one day after notching the support from the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
“Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone — we live to fight another day,” the Empire State rep posted on her BlueSky account after losing the vote.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had been the No. 2 Democrat on the committee for the past two years under ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who is moving over to the top Dem spot on the House Judiciary Committee.
But many establishment Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly felt that Connolly was a far more seasoned investigator to help navigate the party through the incoming Trump administration.
Connolly, who represents a Northern Virginia suburban district, had been a key Democrat on the Oversight panel since joining the lower chamber in 2009. If Ocasio-Cortez had won the perch, she would’ve been the youngest Democrat to serve in the role.
“We know what the Republican playbook will be. We have seen it before. They have demonstrated that they are willing to traffic in debunked conspiracy theories and enable the worst abuses of the Trump Administration,” Connolly said after winning the slot.
“This will be trench warfare. Now is not the time to be timid I promise the American people that our Committee Democrats will be a beacon of truth and prepared from Day One to counter Republican gaslighting.”
Connolly further promised to keep Democrats “disciplined” and “laser-focused on getting results on the kitchen table issues.”
In landing the role, Connolly is paving the way to become one of President-elect Donald Trump’s chief adversaries in Congress.
However, due to the razor-thin House GOP majority, Connolly will be somewhat limited in his ability to take on the commander-in-chief.
While Ocasio-Cortez had enjoyed fanfare amongst the progressive base, Connolly managed to court more mainstream and centrist Democrats.
Prior to her nasty fall in Luxembourg that necessitated hip replacement surgery, Pelosi was believed to be pulling strings from behind the scenes to boost Connolly.
She is widely believed to have a somewhat acrimonious relationship with Ocasio-Cortez, who famously took down her ally, former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), in a 2018 primary upset.
