According to a report from Punchbowl News, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is actively working to “tank” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s bid to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
Pelosi has reportedly been making phone calls and lobbying for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) to serve as the top Dem on the committee.
From The New York Post:
Pelosi has publicly backed Connolly’s candidacy, but the scope of the powerful Democrat’s lobbying campaign was previously unknown.
Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez are in a heated intra-party race to replace current Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will meet next week and make a recommendation to the full Democratic caucus on who should be elected ranking member on the panel tasked with handling oversight of the incoming Trump administration.
Multiple outlets have reported that Ocasio-Cortez has the support of the majority of Democrats on the oversight panel.
While Pelosi is pushing for Connolly, committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has expressed his fondness for AOC.
During a recent CNN interview, Comer admitted he liked AOC for the role.
“I’m a big AOC fan,” Comer told CNN on Thursday. “Obviously, I don’t agree with very much of her policy, but I think she’s a good person, I think she’s very well-spoken.”
“I tell the press when they ask about the race for ranking member, the Democrats have nowhere to go but up after having Jamie Raskin for the last four years, so, I think AOC would be great,” Comer said, before sliding in that Connolly would also “be great.”
