Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, lost her bid to lead the influential House Oversight Committee, falling to Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, who has pledged “trench warfare” against the incoming Trump administration.
Connolly (D-Va.) secured the role in a House Democratic caucus vote on Tuesday, after winning backing from the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee the day before.
“Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone — we live to fight another day,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on her BlueSky account after the vote.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who had served as the committee’s No. 2 Democrat under ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), sought to ascend as Raskin moves to the top Democratic slot on the Judiciary Committee. However, Democratic leaders reportedly saw Connolly as the more experienced investigator to face the challenges of an emboldened Republican majority and the Trump administration.
“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. “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 also vowed to keep Democrats “disciplined” and “laser-focused on getting results on the kitchen table issues.”
A longtime representative of Northern Virginia’s suburbs, Connolly joined the Oversight panel in 2009 and has since been a key figure in Democratic investigative efforts. Ocasio-Cortez, who joined the House Oversight Committee in 2019, would have been the youngest Democrat ever to hold the ranking position.
While Ocasio-Cortez commands strong support among the progressive base, Connolly appealed to mainstream and centrist Democrats. Many in the party’s leadership, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), reportedly preferred Connolly’s extensive experience. Pelosi’s influence was seen as pivotal, despite her recent recovery from hip replacement surgery following an accident in Luxembourg.
Pelosi is widely believed to have a tense relationship with Ocasio-Cortez, whose upset victory over Pelosi ally Joe Crowley (D-NY) in 2018 signaled a generational and ideological shift within the party.
By claiming the Oversight leadership role, Connolly positions himself as a prominent Democratic adversary to President-elect Donald Trump. Still, with a narrow Republican House majority, his ability to act aggressively will have practical limits.
