AOC's colleagues already floating a future leadership bid
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a news conference outside the Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.
With the dust not yet cleared on her unsuccessful bid to lead Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) colleagues are pitching her for another leadership bid in the near future.
Why it matters: The 35-year-old has transformed from a progressive bomb-thrower who openly sparred with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) into a member whose support extends to the Democratic establishment.
- "The view of her is evolving," said Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.). "She seems to have changed her approach to legislating, and I think she's figured out how to rock the boat without tipping it over."
- "We're going to need more players like that going forward," he added.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), asked if he thinks Ocasio-Cortez will make it into leadership in the near term, told Axios: "Yes."
Driving the news: Ocasio-Cortez lost to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) in a 131 to 84 vote for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, according to multiple lawmakers who were present.
- At 35, Ocasio-Cortez easily would have been House Democrats' youngest committee leader – as well as their most high profile.
- Connolly, 74, withstood a generational shift that has seen several of Democrats' septuagenarian committee leaders pushed out.
Zoom in: Lawmakers on both sides of the election told Axios the loss shouldn't be read as a repudiation of Ocasio-Cortez, noting several factors working against her.
- Connolly is more senior on Oversight and has been in Congress a decade longer — giving him a much deeper well of relationships.
- He was passed over for Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) to lead the panel in 2022 despite Raskin also being junior to him.
- And despite his age and recent cancer diagnosis, Connolly has a trademark vigor which reassured colleagues that they could show deference to the seniority system in his case.
What they're saying: "She's a huge talent, she's a value-add to the caucus ... I hope she pursues things in the future," Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Democratic caucus, said of Ocasio-Cortez.
- Aguilar said he has a "warm spot for people who run for these leadership elections and come up short the first time. That's what I did. ... I wouldn't bet against her for any of these positions in the future."
- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who supported Connolly, said Ocasio-Cortez "is equipped with all the tools necessary for leadership. Sometimes, it's a little more time to get there."
- Some also argued that the 84 votes Ocasio-Cortez mustered Tuesday showed she is already on the cusp: "She did a great job. I think she should be really proud," said Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
Yes, but: Ocasio-Cortez may continue to confront the ghosts of her past as one of Democrats' foremost left-wing rabble-rousers.
- She was pressed, for instance, on her support for primary challengers to fellow House Democrats during a Steering and Policy Committee meeting on Monday and promised to discontinue the practice.
- Ocasio-Cortez also said that, contrary to her past refusal, she has started paying her dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — in addition to increasingly campaigning for colleagues' reelection and for the party's presidential ticket.
- Incoming New Democrat Coalition chair Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) said Ocasio-Cortez is "very talented" but declined to engage in hypotheticals about supporting a rival to her in a future leadership election as he did with Connolly.
What to watch: What precise position Ocasio-Cortez might be on deck for remains unclear.
- One House Democrat noted that, with Connolly's age, she may not have to wait too long before he retires from Congress and leaves the Oversight role vacant.
- Asked about her future plans, Ocasio-Cortez told Axios: "I don't have any comment on that."
