Rep. Robert Garcia is starting to make quiet moves toward a bid to lead Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, according to five people granted anonymity to discuss his behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
The Californian has started to round up support from other Democrats who are encouraging him to run and is testing the waters by making calls to other colleagues, the people said.
Both privately and publicly, Garcia is showing deference to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who announced last week he will step aside as top Oversight Democrat due to a battle with cancer.
“Right now there’s like no election, and so I think those of us on the Oversight Committee are just focused on Gerry’s health,” Garcia told reporters Tuesday. “We just wish him the very best.”
Still, many Democrats are eyeing the high-profile post after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday she would forgo a bid. That decision is likely to open up the field for a host of other ambitious young Democrats — including Garcia, 47.
Connolly has yet to formally step aside, so no election has been scheduled. He designated Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts as the interim top Democrat; Lynch said last week he intends to seek the job permanently.
Any contest is expected to be hotly contested, and lawmakers have made preliminary moves to lock down support. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has already started to privately maneuver for the job, and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) could also be in the mix. Frost and Garcia are close, and some Democrats believe the two would not run against each other.
“At this point I feel like half the committee is wanting to run for the seat,” said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), who served on the Oversight panel last Congress. She stood up in House Democrats’ closed-door caucus meeting Monday to say “we need to be utilizing all of our talent in the caucus” by elevating younger lawmakers, she said.
Another Democrat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss caucus dynamics, said he was “really excited” to support Garcia should he choose to run. That Democrat said he had supported Connolly for the Oversight position last year.
Garcia currently serves in Democratic leadership, holding a position reserved for lawmakers who have served fewer than five terms in Congress. Should he mount an Oversight run, he could draw the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Only one CHC member, Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, holds a committee leadership position.
Should Democrats take control of the House in the 2026 midterms, the Oversight chair would have broad jurisdiction to investigate the Trump administration and a central role in the party’s accountability efforts over the executive branch. For now, the ranking member is a key foil to Oversight Republicans’ continued efforts to investigate former President Joe Biden’s administration.
