Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to become the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
Connolly defeated AOC in a 131-84 vote.
“I thank my colleagues for their support and the confidence they’ve placed in me to lead House Democrats on the Oversight Committee,” Connolly said in a statement.
He claimed that Republicans have “demonstrated that they are willing to traffic in debunked conspiracy theories and enable the worst abuses of the Trump administration.”
Calling his role on the committee “trench warfare,” Connolly added that he would “counter Republican gaslighting” and lead House Democrats on the committee into “getting results on the kitchen table issues that affect the American people the most.”
“We will stand up for our democracy and for truth. And we will protect the tremendous and historic progress we have made as House Democrats,” he said.
Following her defeat, AOC wrote on the social media platform Bluesky, “Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone – we live to fight another day.”
In announcing his bid for the ranking member position, Connolly wrote, “We must expose and dismantle bad-faith Republican efforts to promote conspiracy theories, intimidate witnesses, and undermine democratic processes.”
“I’ve done this effectively in my work on the Committee in opposing the impeachment of President Biden and while serving as an appointee on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” he noted, going on to declare that one of his “top priorities will be to elevate the talent and diversity of our caucus.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is a beat I know well, and right now we need an expert who can parry the worst Republican attacks on our institutions and deliver reform where it is necessary and needed,” Connolly wrote. “Burrowing into issues, empowering our members to their full potential, and managing the broad range of policies and politics that come before our Committee – that is the job I will do as the Ranking Member.”
