AOC won't run for top Democratic seat on House Oversight Committee

After speaking to colleagues, the progressive New York congresswoman said she believed Democrats would favor a more senior member in the role, as they did in the previous race.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday night that she won’t seek the top Democratic post on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the panel that would be in the strongest position to investigate the Trump administration if Democrats were to win back the chamber next year.

Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, ran for the coveted position in December but was defeated by a more senior member of the committee, Gerry Connolly, of Virginia. Last week, though, Connolly said that because his esophageal cancer had returned, he wouldn’t seek re-election to Congress and would step back from his day-to-day responsibilities on the Oversight panel.

After having spoken to colleagues, Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that she believed another bid for the post would be an uphill climb against another more senior member.

“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,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, referring to a separate committee.

She had no comment on whom she might support in the Oversight race.