Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Unexpected Announcement Sets Off Scramble Among House Democrats

Conservative News DailyMay 6, 2025

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she will not pursue the position of ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, choosing rather to remain on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She cited concerns over seniority dynamics within the Democratic caucus as a key reason for her decision. ocasio-cortez previously lost a bid for the same position to Rep. Gerry Connolly by a significant margin. Connolly is stepping down due to health issues, and Rep. Stephen Lynch will serve as the interim ranking member. With Ocasio-Cortez out of the running for a leadership role, other potential candidates for the position include Reps. Jasmine crockett and Robert Garcia. Speculation suggests that Ocasio-Cortez’s decision might indicate her ambitions for a future presidential run, possibly in 2028.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York announced Monday that she will not be running to become the Democratic ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.

”It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” the 35-year-old congresswoman told reporters.

NEWS: AOC says she won’t run to be top Dem on Oversight

“It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, and so I believe I’ll be staying put at energy and commerce.”

— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) May 5, 2025

The Hill reported that the four-term lawmaker’s decision came just months after she tried unsuccessfully for the same position, losing to Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia in a 131-84 vote among the Democratic caucus.

Connolly, 75, announced that he will now be stepping down as Oversight ranking member due to the return of his esophageal cancer.

Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts will serve as interim ranking member, but the 70-year-old has said he’s interested in running for the role.

“I think a lot of people were waiting to see what Alexandria did,” one senior House progressive told Axios.

With AOC out of the running, others interested in the position are thought to include Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Robert Garcia of California.

Crockett lost badly to Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan last year in an election for chairmanship of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. The final tally was 152 to 59.

Politico noted that Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to forego a run at a leadership position, along with headlining the “Fight Oligarchy,” rallies with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, will only further fuel speculation that she plans to run for president in 2028.

There’s such irony in AOC and Bernie’s anti-oligarch performance art tour. For every billionaire who backed Trump, Kamala Harris had 2. 65% of rich Americans are Democrats. 75% of hedge fund managers—you guessed it!—Democrats! Every accusation from the Democrats is a confession. pic.twitter.com/BBstFVTJCT

— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 21, 2025

Vice President J.D. Vance — who is considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate on the Republican side — was asked last week what he thought of an Ocasio-Cortez run for the White House.

Vice President @JDVance speaks to @BretBaier about the prospects of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launching a presidential campaign, and the state of the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/OZ3YlwgZZH

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 3, 2025

He responded, “President AOC, the stuff of nightmares.”

Vance added he could not say who the current leader of the Democratic Party is, suggesting that, in a sense, President Donald Trump is, because every decision that he makes, the Democrats come out against it.