AOC loses vote to take over from Trump as ranking Democrat on Oversight Committee

Veteran House Democrat Gerry Connolly fended off a challenge from progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday, setting the Virginia Democrat up to become the top-ranked Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in the new Congress.

Connolly has served on the Oversight Committee since 2009 and has led Democrats on the Government Operations Subcommittee since 2013. On November 7, he announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, opening the door for a challenge from Ocasio-Cortez.

Despite these health challenges, Connolly won 131 votes to 84, according to multiple Democratic sources, cementing his role in one of the most prominent positions in Washington in the fight against the new Trump administration and a unified Republican majority in Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez has been a member of the Oversight Committee since her first term in 2019, when she took Capitol Hill by storm as the leader of the so-called Squad. Despite today’s defeat, she is still poised to take on a prominent role in the body of the 119th Congress.

Connolly said he was ready to take on the Trump administration.

“He (Trump) may feel more emboldened, but that may also make him more reckless,” Connolly said. “There is a law in this country and we will make sure it is enforced.”

“Our strategy will be to tell the truth, and if that hurts, we know we’ve made a name for ourselves,” he said.

Connolly said he was able to defeat AOC because: “I think my colleagues measured their votes based on who has experience, who is experienced, who can be trusted, who is skilled at it, who has a track record of success.” “And I think that caught on.”

Connolly won an initial recommendation from the House Democratic Steering Committee to lead panel Democrats on AOC in the next Congress by a 34-27 vote Monday night.

Contrary to this recommendation, Ocasio-Cortez called on the entire caucus to vote on the contest.

The results come as Democrats undergo a post-election reckoning after Vice President Kamala Harris lost to President-elect Donald Trump – a period of soul-searching that parallels House Democrats’ traditional deference to seniority on committee assignments has made a significant difference.

So far, Democrats have already opted for younger, younger Democrats to serve as the top party member on the Judiciary, Agriculture and Natural Resources committees, leading to significant upheaval on Capitol Hill.

The maneuver comes as Democrats prepare for a battle with the Trump administration next year. Members hope that younger, more energetic voices can better inject the party’s message into what are expected to be high-profile political battles, even as Democrats remain stuck in the minority.

But when it came to the Oversight Committee, Democrats still appeared to prioritize Connolly’s reputation despite his health problems over Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive and effective communicator but who has emerged as a prominent bogeyman for national Republicans.

In total, Democrats have selected five women to serve as senior committee members in the next Congress, along with several people of color, while Republicans have nominated no women.