Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on Friday that she is entering the race to become the top Democrat on the influential House Oversight Committee.
In a letter to colleagues, the New York Democrat wrote, “I write to you today to seek your support to serve as Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the 119th Congress.”
“This is not a position I seek lightly,” she continued. “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 holding administrations accountable and addressing the economic precarity and inequality threatening the American way of life.”
Ocasio-Cortez will compete with Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia for the role, which holds significant importance for Democrats aiming to counter Trump’s second term. If the high-profile congresswoman succeeds, the position would provide her with an even bigger national platform.
Ocasio-Cortez had been calling Democratic members in recent days to inform them of her intentions, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
“I’m certainly interested in the position and I’m having a lot of conversations with my colleagues,” she told CNN on Wednesday. “I think it’s incredibly important that we prepare ourselves fully for the incoming Trump administration.”
Ocasio-Cortez shared that she had learned much from working alongside Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, noting how Democrats successfully “derailed” Republicans’ attempts to bring impeachment articles against President Joe Biden to the House floor.
This leadership contest is part of broader Democratic efforts to shake up committee leadership and usher in a new generation of leaders as the party seeks strategies to counter President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress in the new year.
Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York has decided not to continue as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, clearing the way for Raskin to take over and leaving the position atop House Oversight vacant.