Tipsheet

Are We About to See an AOC-Crockett Ranking Member Fight for Oversight?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 02, 2025 11:00 AM

Earlier this week, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) revealed that he was not running for reelection and that he will be stepping aside as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. It could be an opening for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who sought the position for this session of Congress, but ultimately lost to Connolly. However, another far-left member who is looking to make a name for herself is also on the Committee, and also looks to be seeking the position. That would be Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).

On Thursday, POLITICO reported that Crockett was "stumping" for the position, as she claims she was "made for the moment." As the piece mentioned:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas has started pitching fellow Democrats on a run for the party’s top Oversight Committee position, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Crockett’s entreaties — playing out in phone calls, text messages and floor conversations — mark the beginning of a contested race to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) as Oversight’s ranking member. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts is also seeking the job, though Connolly — who announced plans to step aside after suffering a recurrence of esophageal cancer — has not yet formally done so.

Crockett has told other lawmakers that she’s “made for the moment,” the people said, an apparent reference to the desire among Democratic voters for more forceful resistance to President Donald Trump.

She told POLITICO in a text message that, while there isn’t a vacancy, “knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.”

She added, “I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m not interested in leading our investigative body while also communicating & educating the country on our findings.”

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) is also seeking the position, and Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Maxwell Frost (D-FL) may do so as well.  Khanna is a bit more moderate, at least in his tone, than other Democrats, though Garcia and Frost are radical leftists just like AOC and Crockett, who have also been looking to make a name for themselves by going after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

The report does note, though, that AOC "could clear the field if she chooses to run," and that she's "'weighing' a bid to run" again. 

This comes after Semafor previewed on Tuesday that Crockett was looking to run for the position. "Connolly hasn’t resigned from the committee, but if he does, leadership must call an election within 30 days. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., would step in as acting ranking member, and has told members Connolly would back him to stay in the role," the blurb about such a preview mentioned. 

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Crockett certainly has had something of a "moment" lately, though she's made headlines for the wrong reasons, including on Thursday, the same day that the POLITICO piece came out. 

A clip of comments she made to MSNBC in March, in which she falsely claimed that "it is not a criminal violation to enter the country illegally… It’s not a crime," has resurfaced, which was hit with context from Community Notes. 

Her post from Wednesday, put out by her official account over X, goes after Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and may also be hit with such context.

It's also worth noting that former Vice President Kamala Harris, who gave a speech on Wednesday night, mentioned Crockett, AOC, and Frost by name when applauding certain Democratic leaders in Congress. Crockett, from her political account on X, has reposted one such clip of this part of Harris' speech. 

As radical as such members may be, they also look to be the most noteworthy Democrats in Congress at the moment.