By Nicholas Wu
House Democrats have stepped up a generational shift at the top of their committee after significant behind-the-scenes influence from both current and former caucus leaders.
The caucus faced tough races for the Agriculture, Oversight and Natural Resources Committees. Rep. Angie Craig (Minn.), incumbent Rep. David Scott (Ga.), who has long had questions about his health, and Rep. He edged out Jim Costa (Calif.) for the top party seat on Agriculture. ). Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) Rep. Won the Oversight recommendation over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY). And Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.) voted against Melanie Stansbury (NM) to represent the Natural Resources Committee following the resignation of Rep. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.).
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) is also up for the top Democratic seat on the Judiciary Committee, though the Chair will now vote on uncontested panel seats Tuesday.
It’s a major turnover for a group that typically prefers seniority to select panel leaders. But House Democratic leaders, such as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, remained somewhat on the sidelines as lawmakers challenged powerful sitting committee chairs, a sign many members took as tacit approval of efforts to replace the old guard.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi put her thumb on the scale even more sharply, despite stepping down from leadership two years ago. He publicly supported fellow Californians Huffman and Costa, as well as Connolly for Oversight. Pelosi also made lobbying calls to support all three men, according to three people familiar with the conversations.
The full Democratic Caucus will vote on the recommendations Tuesday morning. The majority vote is expected to be unqualified approval of the board’s selections, although the caucus has the option to vote against the selections.
