U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) came up well short in her bid to become the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, an influential position that would have given her an elevated platform.<\/p>\n
In a private vote among the House Democrats\u2019 Steering and Policy Committee on Monday, House Democrats voted to nominate longtime U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) for the position, according to a report from Axios. The move represents a significant setback for Ocasio-Cortez, though the full Democratic Party caucus will still need to vote on whether to approve the committee\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n
It is rare for a full caucus to rebuke a steering committee\u2019s nomination \u2014 which is closely aligned with party leadership \u2014 though such a move is not without precedent.<\/p>\n
The final vote was not particularly close, with Connolly defeating Ocasio-Cortez by a final tally of 34-27, according to multiple lawmakers who were present for the vote.<\/p>\n
Despite the significant setback, AOC has vowed to continue her pursuit of the key position.<\/p>\n
As ranking member, the progressive lawmaker would be the most senior member on the House Oversight Committee, which is tasked with ensuring efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of federal agencies.\u00a0The ranking member plays a vital role in shaping legislation by offering amendments, conducting oversight, and offering crucial commentary on committee agendas.<\/p>\n
The ongoing fight between Rep. Connolly, 74, and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, comes as several senior Democrats have come up short in committee leadership bids against younger challengers.\u00a0On Monday, Rep. Angie Craig\u00a0(D-MN), 52, unseated 79-year-old Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-GA), as well as \u00a0Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), 72, to lead the Agriculture panel.<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) told Axios that Connolly\u2019s seniority likely played a role in his victory, though it \u201cwasn\u2019t that just that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone sort of made the case that they would be the best to help change the message across the country. \u2026 He\u2019s a very good communicator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another member, who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity, blamed AOC\u2019s loss on the committee\u2019s composition, stating that it is \u201cmade up of the most senior members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters of Ocasio-Cortez are holding out hope in the wake of the vote. \u201cThe majority of votes are in the caucus. We\u2019re somewhere between 50 and 70 in [steering], but then it\u2019s going to move up to a much larger 215,\u201d said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH). \u201cThe numbers could move. They all have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) came up well short in her bid to become the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, an influential position that would… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n