by Owen Klinsky
The Democratic Party is shaking up its committee leadership in the House of Representatives following its crushing November election defeat.
Despite failing to take back a majority, Democrats have retained their top leadership in the House of Representatives, tapping House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar to stay on in their current roles. Meanwhile, the knives have come out at the committee level, with a slew of Democratic representatives launching bids against more senior panel members for top committee posts.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, 61, mounted a challenge against Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, 77, for the top role on the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 2, with Nadler ultimately dropping out of the race Wednesday amid a surge of support for his younger opponent.
“As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” Nadler wrote in a Dec. 4 Dear Colleague letter announcing he was dropping his bid.
The statement was a far cry from his Nov. 26 press release announcing his intention to seek re-election as the panel’s top Democrat: “As a New Yorker, I have stood up to Donald Trump my entire career. Prior to his entering politics, I worked to prevent him from abusing taxpayer dollars to line his own pockets. When he became President, I led the Judiciary Committee’s efforts to hold him accountable for his various abuses of power, culminating in two historic impeachments. I understand his playbook. I am well prepared to help thwart his plans to be a ‘Dictator on Day One.’”
The Nadler coup reportedly comes amid a push from Democratic lawmakers for generational change as the party faces a second Trump administration, according to The New York Times. Congressional leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, allegedly lobbied Raskin to challenge Nadler following Raskin’s efforts as a leading force in President-elect Donald Trump’s 2021 impeachment and the Jan. 6 investigation, with Nadler’s opponents arguing he wasn’t fit for the task of taking on Republican House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
In making a run to be Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Raskin gave up his position as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, raising the possibility of the role being filled by another, less senior Democrat. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured above). Ocasio-Cortez, 35, announced a bid for the position Friday and is now set to face off against Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, in what is expected to be a close contest.
Connolly has served on the committee since being sworn in to Congress in 2009. Ocasio-Cortez did not assume a congressional office until 2019, previously working as an activist and bartender.
“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,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a Dear Colleague letter announcing her bid Friday. “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.”
The Natural Resources Committee also faces a shake up, with current ranking member Democratic Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, 76, stepping down amid health problems and a challenge from Democratic California Rep. Jared Huffman, 60. Grijalva had held the position for 10 years, and was initially slated to seek re-election before reversing course on Dec. 2., claiming it was “the right moment to pass the torch.”
Grijalva ultimately endorsed Democratic New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury, 45, to replace him.
“I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague, Rep. Melanie Stansbury for Ranking Member because she has the experience, vision, policy acuity, and resolve we need to defend progress we have made in charting a cleaner, safer, more just future for every American,” Grijalva told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
However, Grijalva’s endorsement may not have a significant impact on the contest, with 23 House Democrats signing a letter Monday backing Huffman for the position.
“The Natural Resources Committee touches all of our districts and it will be a key battleground as we brace for an onslaught of attacks on the fundamental rights of our communities and our precious environment,” the members wrote in the letter. “House Democrats will be in great hands with Jared leading this important committee as Ranking Member. We endorse him enthusiastically and urge you to support him in the upcoming caucus election.”
Democratic Georgia Rep. David Scott, 79, has also come under fire after missing two weeks of votes due to treatment for a back injury, with Democratic Reps. Jim Costa of California, 72, and Angie Craig of Minnesota, 52, announcing bids in November to unseat him as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture. Craig is the third lowest in terms of seniority in the committee, but is looking to angle herself as a younger alternative who will help effectuate change in the wake of the 2024 election.
“If I’ve learned anything in the last several weeks, it’s that we’ve got real work to do as Democrats to prove to the American people that our policies are the ones that make a difference,” she wrote in a Nov. 25 Dear Colleague letter announcing her run. “My district in Minnesota is full of hardworking people from all walks of life — most of them don’t belong to one political party or the other, they just want the folks representing them to understand their dreams and challenges. They want us to show up and listen.”
The Ocasio-Cortez, Connolly, Huffman, Nadler, Stansbury, Craig, Costa and Scott offices did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment. Raskin’s office declined to comment.
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Owen Klinsky is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Image “Alexandria Ocasio Cortez” by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
