Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is reportedly “actively working to tank” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) bid to serve as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
AOC is reportedly trying to position herself to take over as chair when Democrats take back the lower chamber of Congress.
From Punchbowl News’ midday newsletter:
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is actively working to tank Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Pelosi is making calls on behalf of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who is running against AOC to be ranking member of Oversight. Pelosi has made her support for Connolly publicly known. But her behind-the-scenes maneuvering shows the amount of political capital Pelosi’s willing to put into the contest, which will be decided next week.Ocasio-Cortez announced her intention to seek the position last week, writing in a letter to colleagues that “The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one. Now, more than ever, we must focus on the Committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life.” Mediaite noted that in a book published by Ryan Grim last year, the left-wing journalist revealed that Ocasio-Cortez found reason to celebrate when Pelosi stepped down from her leadership position in the Democratic caucus.
“I thought a lot of my misery was due to leadership more broadly having a thing against me. But … my life has completely transformed. It’s crazy. And it’s that that made me realize it was kind of just [Pelosi] the whole time,” she told Grim.
