Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won't seek the top Democratic seat on the 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.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., at a news conference on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2023.Jacquelyn Martin / AP file

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.

“There’s no vacancy. There’s no official race yet, so I won’t comment on that, and I want to be respectful of ranking member Connolly,” she said.

It's a surprising turn given that Ocasio-Cortez, who has been attracting thousands of supporters at speeches around the country and has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, said just days ago that she was weighing a bid to secure the post.

If Democrats retake the House in 2026, the Oversight chair's gavel could have provided her with an enormous platform and authority to investigate the Trump administration.

Because she left the Oversight panel to take a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Ocasio-Cortez would have needed a waiver from the Democratic Caucus to return to Oversight. But several colleagues said they believed she would have been the prohibitive favorite for the job had she decided to run.

In December, Connolly beat back a challenge from Ocasio-Cortez in a 131-84 vote by House Democrats. She said Monday that she doesn't believe the result would be much different if she squared off against a different member with more seniority.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., is the third most senior member on the panel and is filling in for Connolly on an interim basis. Lynch announced last week that he will run for the Oversight job and that Connolly has endorsed him.

In addition to Lynch, other Democrats have been reaching out to colleagues about possibly running for the position, including Kweisi Mfume, of Maryland; Maxwell Frost, of Florida; and Jasmine Crockett, of Texas.