Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Friday announced she is running to be the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, a spot that would give her a more powerful and visible role as President-elect Donald Trump returns to power.
Ocasio-Cortez, a fourth-term Bronx/Queens lawmaker, told fellow Democrats that they must push back against Republicans but also offer working-class voters a vision of a better path forward.
“We must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class,” she wrote in a letter to colleagues. “I will lead by example by always keeping the lives of everyday Americans at the center of our work.”
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, known to most as a fiery progressive, is vying for the top Democratic spot left vacant by Rep. Jamie Raskin’s switch to the Judiciary Committee, where he successfully elbowed aside veteran Manhattan liberal Rep. Jerrold Nadler.
Her main opponent is expected to be Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia), 74, who is considered a more mainstream, old-line Democratic figure.
The panel, which plays a key role in investigations of the executive branch, will be led by chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), who relished his role spearheading recent probes of presidential son Hunter Biden, the supposed “weaponization” of the justice system against conservatives and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democratic leaders including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are not taking sides in the fight for the oversight role or other committee fights as younger and more dynamic lawmakers push for more visible roles.
Once a leader of the far left wing of the party, Ocasio-Cortez has worked hard to build a reputation for political flexibility and as a smart and hard-working legislator.
She makes little secret of her aim to eventually run for higher office. The oversight role would give her a prime perch to show off her chops to more Americans across the state and nationwide.
House Democrats did surprisingly well in the 2024 elections, picking up one seat to cut the Republican edge to just 220-215.
History says the party has an excellent chance to win back control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, a win that could catapult Ocasio-Cortez into an even more prominent role as oversight chair.
