Jared Huffman

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is charting a new, more detached course for working her will on the Democratic caucus she once ruled with an iron fist, numerous lawmakers familiar with the matter tell Axios.Why it matters: Pelosi's colleagues described a laissez faire approach to backing candidates in committee leadership elections that gives House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) space to settle into his role.During her reign, Pelosi "would actively have her hands on these races" and would "prevent them from even happening" in some cases, said one veteran House Democrat."That's not what happened here. I think it is a different model," the lawmaker added."If folks are looking for this narrative that Nancy Pelosi was behind the curtain orchestrating [things], I don't think that happened," said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). Driving the news: Pelosi encouraged several committee ranking member candidates to jump into their races – but her choices racked up a mixed record on Tuesday when House Democrats met to vote on contested roles.Huffman was elected ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee – though his one rival, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), dropped out before the vote.Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to become Oversight Committee ranking member with Pelosi's endorsement.Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), another Pelosi-backed Californian, lost to Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in the race to lead the Agriculture Committee.Zoom in: Pelosi was physically absent from the elections due to a hip replacement surgery she received in Germany over the weekend after a fall during a congressional trip.Still, former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Pelosi's longtime deputy, said in a speech supporting Costa that he spoke for the former speaker as well, multiple lawmakers in the room told Axios.What they're saying: Huffman told Axios after the elections that he and others have gone to Pelosi "for her counsel," but that her role as a booster largely ended with her encouraging candidates to run.Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), who spoke on behalf of Connolly, said of Pelosi's support for the Virginian: "I don't think it was a factor.""I mean, it's a good factor when anybody plays a role. But, look, you heard Steny in another race say that the speaker emerita was [supporting Costa], and that was a different result," he added.An Ocasio-Cortez ally told Axios they "haven't heard people talking so much" about Pelosi's role and that the frustration in AOC's camp is focused on certain other top House Democrats who backed Connolly.Between the lines: Pelosi did some campaigning for her candidates, as Axios has reported. But numerous House Democrats said Tuesday that activity appeared to be fairly limited and fell short of a true whip operation."As one of her strong supporters, she never said anything to me," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), positing that there were "some overstatements about ... this theory [that] she had to have her hands in some of this."Said a senior House Democrat: "I did not have a conversation with the former speaker at all, and ... if she was a part of it, I wasn't aware of it."Another senior House Democrat told Axios they "didn't hear about any calls," and, noting Pelosi's hip replacement surgery, said that "of course she was not in much of a position to make calls the last week."Yes, but: Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a vocal Connolly ally, argued Pelosi's backing of Connolly still "definitely helped" him consolidate support."And [Hoyer] too," he said. "Two very respected people who have been in leadership for 20-plus years."

Connolly will succeed Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who will become the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, replacing Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won't be the top Democrat on a prominent House committee next year

The New Yorker lost to Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) in the race for the top slot on the House Oversight Committee.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to lead Democrats on the Oversight and Accountability Committee in the next Congress, putting the feisty liberal veteran in one of the most powerful spots to confront President-elect Trump in his second term. The win was forecast a day earlier, when the Democratic Steering [...]

'In great hands'

A growing band of younger House Democrats is challenging senior members for powerful congressional posts.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday formally launched a bid to lead Democrats on the Oversight and Accountability Committee in the next Congress — a powerful seat that will play a prominent role in the party's effort to push back against President Trump in his second term. The move sets up a contest between Ocasio-Cortez [...]

In the month since the presidential election, some things are starting to become clearer though many questions remain.What Can Be Expected on Day 1President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that on Day 1 he plans to immediately reverse pauses on all liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits to accelerate oil and gas production and “lower energy prices.” Trump will push for more oil drilling on federal land and we also expect that the administration and Congress to move quickly on revamping DOE’s role in LNG export licenses under the Natural Gas Act. Trump also repeatedly promised on his campaign trail to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change once again, meaning the US would not have to abide by any “nationally determined contribution,” the non-binding 10-year national climate plan that the US is supposed to submit by a February 2025 deadline.Trump’s next likely targets include the recently finalized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methane fee on... Read the complete article here...©1994-2024 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. All Rights Reserved.

Trump won't be president for another 45 days, but the president-in-waiting isn't shying away from acting like the president-in-reality.

Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, seen here in July, are among those pushing for a changing of the guard at the committee level as House Democrats head into the second Trump era.

House Democratic leadership on Thursday laid out their timeline for deciding their committee ranking members in the 119th Congress.Why it matters: Democrats will have to adjudicate several hotly contested battles as part of effort by some lawmakers to oust some of their party's oldest panel leaders.House Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee will first meet to make recommendations on panel leadership and filling vacant seats.Then the full House Democratic caucus will have to vote on whether to approve those recommendations.Driving the news: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his leadership team will decide on the membership of the steering committee this week, the three current co-chairs wrote in a letter first obtained by Axios.The panel will then hold meetings on Dec. 10 and 16 to make recommendations on committee ranking memberships, filling vacant committee slots and committee assignments for new members.Zoom out: Democrats have at least three potentially contested committee fights.Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) is running unopposed to lead the Natural Resources Committee after incumbent ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) withdrew his reelection bid, but Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) may jump into that race in Grijalva's stead.Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.) are both challenging Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.).Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) is running for Oversight Committee ranking member and is expected to face a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Axios first reported.Zoom in: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the current Oversight ranking member, had been running to unseat Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), but Nadler withdrew on Wednesday and endorsed Raskin.Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Axios on Wednesday that she is supporting "some" of these challenges to incumbent ranking members.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, who served as the lead Democratic prosecutor in Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, will challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler for House Judiciary chairman.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is taking steps towards a run to unseat House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) after initially leaning against it, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Raskin has seen a groundswell of support from colleagues serious enough that it prompted leadership to check in with him about his intentions, sources familiar with the matter tell Axios.The impending Trump administration and fully GOP-controlled Congress is fueling a multi-committee push to oust some of House Democrats' oldest leaders in favor of more vigorous alternatives.What he's saying: "I'm not ruling anything out at this point," Raskin said Sunday in a CNN "State of the Union" appearance.He added: "We're engaged in conversations all with the purpose of creating ... a really effective and muscular opposition."Raskin's office told Axios he hopes to make his plans clear to his colleagues next week.What we're hearing: Raskin is leaning towards running after a week of deliberations and has been calling colleagues to gauge support, several senior Democratic sources told Axios.Raskin had privately dismissed the notion last week, but a "very heavy pressure campaign" waged by colleagues from various factions swayed him to seriously consider it, according to numerous sources.The most notable exhortation came from House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the New York Times first reported and sources confirmed to Axios. Raskin has told colleagues that leadership approached him last month about his plans, according to one lawmaker familiar with his comments.Yes, but: "Leader Hakeem Jeffries has great respect for Ranking Member Jerry Nadler and spent 10 productive years serving alongside him on the House Judiciary Committee," Jeffries spokesperson Andy Eichar told Axios.Eichar added: "By tradition, House Democratic leadership does not get involved in internal caucus races and any suggestion to the contrary is false, speculative and entirely reliant once again on unnamed sources."A spokesperson for Pelosi did not respond to multiple requests for comment.State of play: Raskin, 61, is the the current ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and a former Jan. 6 committee member.Nadler, 77, has led Democrats on the Judiciary Committee since 2017 and said in a letter last month he is seeking to retain his role.There have been pervasive concerns about Nadler's ability to lead his panel in opposition to Republicans and President-elect Trump.The other side: "I am ready, willing, and able to take on Donald Trump and the House Republicans. I am younger than President Trump, and I have fought him my entire career both in NY and Washington, DC," Nadler said in a statement to Axios. "I will put my record of accomplishment as Chairman and Ranking Member against anyone and I'm honored to have the strong support of the caucus," he added.Nadler has been making calls to colleagues during the Thanksgiving break, according to a source close to the New Yorker.The source said that, in addition to the "strong support" Nadler has received, some have said a challenge would do "serious harm" to House Democrats.Zoom out: This would be the third battle between a septuagenarian committee ranking member and one or more relatively younger challengers.Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) is challenging House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) for his role.And Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.) are both vying to oust Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.).In addition to the impending Republican trifecta, Democrats' lack of committee term limits is a significant driver behind these efforts.What's next: House Democrats' steering committee is expected to meet this month to vote on its recommendations for committee roles.The full House Democratic caucus will then have to vote, likely also this month, on whether to ratify those picks.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Local agencies that provide services to immigrant communities, regardless of whether they are in the country legally, are launching campaigns to inform residents of their rights.

Nearly every Democratic leader is getting swept up in a party-wide blame game over their calamitous performance in the 2024 election – but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) appears to be largely evading internal backlash.Why it matters: House Democrats' strong performance compared to the Harris-Walz ticket gives Jeffries a chance to emerge as a singular opposition figure in the Trump administration.Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) are widely expected to be unopposed in House Democrats' leadership elections on Nov. 19 and 20.Still, some Democratic lawmakers say Jeffries and his leadership team will have tough questions to answer about how Democrats move forward from their electoral collapse.What they're saying: Jeffries and his deputies have "done a great job ... and navigated the minority in one of the most difficult and ineffective congressional leaderships in history," said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.).Schneider, a leader of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, added, "I don't think anyone is looking at them and saying, 'If only.'"Leading progressive Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said of Jeffries: "He just has the complete respect and support of the caucus. There are no cracks here, and in fact most people think it was a heroic effort."State of play: The House majority remains in play as of Thursday as several key House races in California, Arizona and elsewhere remain uncalled.Jeffries said in a statement on Thursday afternoon: "It has yet to be decided who will control the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress."Still, Democrats are increasingly pessimistic they will be able to flip enough of the remaining GOP-held seats to eke out a majority.Zoom in: The fact that the House remains up for grabs at all even as President-elect Trump romped to a decisive victory over Vice President Harris is something many House Democrats are hanging their hats on.Incumbent House Democrats in battleground races outperformed Harris by an average of four percentage points, a Democratic strategist told Axios.Jeffries also managed to reverse much of the red wave that swept his home state in 2022, with Democrats defeating Reps. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) and Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.)."He supported members financially, he was a good surrogate, he let people run their races without trying to micromanage and he flipped seats in his home state," said Eric Koch, a Democratic strategist who worked on numerous battleground House races, including in New York.Zoom out: The main targets of Democrats' post-election ire so far have been Harris President Biden, who has taken particular flak for not dropping his candidacy sooner.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – who, unlike Jeffries, has led his caucus since 2017 – has faced some criticism after losing four Senate seats to Republicans.And Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison plans to step down rather than seek another term, according to Reuters.Between the lines: "If anything, he helped. He raised like a jillion dollars," a House Democrat close to Jeffries, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Axios."Nobody's thinking Jeffries [is at fault]. Not one person is going to blame Hakeem Jeffries for this," the lawmaker added.One senior House Democrat even extended Jeffries' apparent reprieve to his hand-picked campaign chief, telling Axios, "As far as I know, no one is blaming Suzan DelBene either," though they added, "that will come."Yes, but: While Jeffries may avoid blame for the outcome, he likely will not be able to sidestep the difficult conversation over the future of the Democratic Party.Said another leading House progressive: "Is our leadership capable and ready to learn from this moment and change? ... Are we going hear from our leadership that we're going to do things differently as a party?"The lawmaker noted that that perspective isn't exclusive to House Democratic leadership, however: "I think that this is like the DNC, the Democratic Party and folks from top to bottom."

The Harris campaign is casting a drastically wider net in recruiting House Democrats to stump for the presidential ticket, gauging the interest of almost every member, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Over a dozen Democratic lawmakers and aides described a "night-and-day" contrast with the surrogate operation under President Biden.To many House members, the shift is evidence of their new importance under the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former House member.What we're hearing: Harris' campaign has widely canvassed House members about their openness to being surrogates, an effort that began almost immediately after Biden dropped his candidacy in July. The center-left New Democrat Coalition polled their nearly 100 members at the campaign's request to "find out who's available," Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), the group's chair, told Axios.A senior House Democrat said the Harris campaign has "asked all members if they are interested in being surrogates," and those who agreed have been contacted each week about their availability to travel."They've asked what our interest level is in a way I haven't been asked previously. Often it's the people who really want to go do it who say something. This time, they're approaching everyone," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.).Zoom in: Several House Democrats who were not stumping for Biden have signed on to do so for Harris."I wasn't a Biden campaign surrogate because I wasn't asked ... But Kamala, it's a different story," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.).A top aide to another House Democrat told Axios their boss has been tapped to travel twice and do swing-state media for Harris – a "glaring" difference from their non-existent role for Biden."They have asked for as many members as possible ... to be surrogates," said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), adding that Harris made the request to her directly when they were at an event together.Between the lines: The Harris campaign knows "the Biden team had an issue of many members not feeling included and are attempting to address the issue of including more people," said the senior House Democrat.Lawmakers saw Biden's approach as a function of his age and reliance on his tight inner circle and campaign co-chairs, including Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.)."He has his circle, and they have their friends, and their friends have their friends, and that's it. And that's maybe what they're comfortable with," said another House Democrat.Biden was "leaning on the ones that were his surrogates when he was running the first time" in 2020, said Kamlager-Dove, while Harris "basically jumped into this a month ago."Yes, but: Sources noted that the general election was just starting at the time of the disastrous debate that precipitated Biden's withdrawal weeks later.The Harris campaign has also retained most of Biden's staff infrastructure, including Hillary Beard, a former chief of staff to Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) who oversees relationships with House members.Harris is also facing a truncated schedule, with Pocan telling Axios the vice president called many members the day Biden dropped out because she "realized that if you're starting a campaign with little runway, you've got to hit [the ground] more than sprinting."And Harris is trying to expand the map. "You're seeing surrogates go to Florida, you're seeing surrogates in Texas," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).Zoom out: House members, feeling more highly regarded by Harris and her team, are rewarding the vice president in turn with far greater enthusiasm.One House Democrat who expressed interest in speaking at the Democratic National Convention was told by their staff that while it may have been feasible under Biden, there is far more competition for public-facing roles in Harris' candidacy.The Harris campaign has been hearing from members proactively reaching out with offers of assistance, according to a source familiar with the matter.Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios the campaign has "more interested surrogates than they know what to do with."The bottom line: "It's night-and-day," said Kuster, who told Axios roughly three-fourths of her group's members expressed interest in being Harris surrogates."Everybody wants in on this campaign, and they're excited about it."

CHICAGO — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has distinguished herself in myriad ways in her long political career, as a highly effective legislator, legendary power player and the first female Speaker in the nation’s history. But as the California Democrat takes the stage on Wednesday night to address the Democratic National Convention, she will stand out [...]

The ascension of Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket has bolstered the party's chances of keeping control of the White House for another four years, but the effect on House races is much less clear. Since replacing President Biden as the Democrats' likely nominee, the vice president has delivered a bolt of [...]

It is a public-private partnership fulfilling a commitment to create a model for change and to work together to advance the state’s green goals.

District leaders and county supervisors can make a difference by keeping the issue on the front burner, pressing to make sure proposed improvements don’t languish as secondary priorities.

A number of Democratic lawmakers, governors and past leaders were quick to rally behind Vice President Harris as she pursues the Democratic Party's presidential nomination following President Biden's withdrawal from the race. Shortly after dropping out of the presidential race, Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, stating it is "time to come together and beat" [...]

A growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers called Friday for Biden to drop his reelection bid, even as the president insisted he'll return to the campaign trail next week.