House Democrats have solidified the generational shake-up at the top of their committees, after significant behind-the-scenes influence from both current and former leaders of the caucus.
The caucus faced tough races for the Agriculture, Oversight and Natural Resources Committees. Rep. Angie Craig (Minn.) won the nod for the top party spot on Agriculture, beating incumbent Rep. David Scott (Ga.), who’d faced long-standing questions about his health, and Rep. Jim Costa (Calif.). Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) won the Oversight recommendation over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.). And Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.) earned the nod for the Natural Resources Committee against Rep. Melanie Stansbury (N.M.) after Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) stepped down.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) is also poised to take the top Democratic spot on the Judiciary Committee, though Steering will now take votes on uncontested panel spots on Tuesday.
It’s a huge amount of turnover for a caucus that typically favors seniority to pick its panel chiefs. But House Democratic leaders such as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had largely stood aside as lawmakers challenged powerful sitting committee heads, a sign many members took as a tacit endorsement of the effort to replace the old guard.
And former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite stepping down from leadership two years ago, put her thumb on the scale even more pointedly. She publicly backed fellow Californians Huffman and Costa, as well as Connolly on Oversight. Pelosi also made calls to lobby support for all three men, according to three people familiar with the conversations.
The full Democratic Caucus will vote on the recommendations Tuesday morning. Most of the votes are expected to be perfunctory approvals of the steering panel’s choices, though the caucus has the option to vote against the selections.
