AOC says she will not seek top House Oversight position after Connolly steps down

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday told reporters that she was not looking to replace House Oversight Ranking Member Gerry Connolly as the top Democrat on the coveted committee, citing seniority concerns.

Connolly defeated Ocasio-Cortez for the post in December after Democrats on the House Steering Committee recommended him. Connolly leaned into his experience on the Oversight Committee in his pitch to fellow Democrats.

The Virginia Democrat decided to step down from the day-to-day activities of his post last week after announcing his esophageal cancer returned, and opted not to run for reelection next year.

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that she would be staying on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, because the attitude toward seniority in the lower chamber had not changed much.

”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, so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” the New York Democrat said.

The lawmaker also did not weigh in on who she would support to succeed Connolly.

“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, per NBC News.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.