Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat and Squad leader, has decided not to relaunch a bid for a coveted position on the House Oversight Committee.
She previously ran to be the top-ranking Democrat on the panel last year, bolstered by other liberals in the House Democratic Caucus who wanted to see an injection of youth in leadership after a dismal performance in the 2024 election.
However, she lost to Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia Democrat, who last week announced he would leave his post following the return of his cancer.
Speculation as to whether Ms. Ocasio-Cortez would again run for the job, despite no longer being on the committee and Democratic leadership actively pushing against her previous bid, swirled last week.
But now the lawmaker has officially decided to not throw her name into the mix.
”It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” she told reporters on Monday.
As to whom she would like to see run instead, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she had no comment because “there’s no vacancy, there’s no official race yet.”
House Democratic leadership, for now, is in no rush to replace Mr. Connolly. Though he announced that he would retire at the end of his term, he hasn’t completely relinquished the Oversight job.
Instead, he tapped Rep. Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat, to act as the top Democrat on the panel in the interim. Mr. Connolly has also encouraged Mr. Lynch to run for the job if an election is officially called by Democratic leadership.
Meanwhile, other House Democrats have begun floating a possible bid. Jasmine Crockett of Texas is reportedly eying the job. Another young liberal, Maxwell Frost of Florida, could also jump into the race now that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has decided against a bid.
