Melanie Stansbury

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 [...]

A contest to determine who will lead Democrats on the Oversight Committee next year will go to the full conference after Ocasio-Cortez lost an early round.

'I’m a big AOC fan,' Comer said. 'Obviously, I don’t agree with much of her policy, but I think she’s a good person. I think she’s very well-spoken.'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is facing strong headwinds – including opposition from House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) – as she tries to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.Why it matters: Senior Democrats say that while Ocasio-Cortez is seen as the favorite over Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the race is still in play.The fight comes as several septuagenarian committee ranking members are facing desperate battles against – or yielding to – younger challengers."Many members are concerned about [the] precedent these races are setting," one senior House Democrat told Axios.What we're hearing: Pelosi has been approaching colleagues urging them to back Connolly over Ocasio-Cortez, according to two House Democrats with direct knowledge of her outreach.Connolly, 74, and Ocasio-Cortez, 35, are facing off to replace current Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).Punchbowl News was first to report Pelosi's advocacy for Connolly. A Pelosi spokesperson did not offer a comment to Axios.State of play: One House Democrats familiar with Ocasio-Cortez's whip count said she "has pretty much the entire [Oversight] Committee with her."That is something that House Democrats' Steering Committee – which meets Tuesday to make its recommendations – will take seriously, the lawmaker said.Another House Democrat said their "gut tells me she gets it" and that Connolly's cancer diagnosis last month is "working against him."Still, lawmakers stressed that it is not a firm lock, noting that the full Democratic caucus has to vote on whether to approve the Steering Committee's suggestions.Zoom out: Several younger Democrats have used the threat of the incoming Trump administration to topple some of the party's oldest ranking members.Raskin, 61, succeeded in getting Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), 74, to step down from his post.So did Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), 60, with Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), 76, though he now faces a challenge from 45-year-old Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.).Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.), 79, is seen as likely to fall to one of his two challengers: Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), 72, or Angie Craig (D-Minn.), 52.Flashback: Pelosi told Axios last week that she was supporting "some" insurgent challenges against incumbent ranking members.She has been making calls on behalf of Costa, her fellow Californian, two House Democrats familiar with the matter told Axios.

The assistant energy secretary refuted the significance of the claim, saying the decision to pause LNG was based on multiple reports.

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.

From the commentary, "Transgender Americans are right to be afraid. These people are not afraid to put down a duly elected member of Congress. Where does that leave others?"

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had hailed what would become Project 2025 as a conservative roadmap for “exactly what our movement will do." Trump pulled an about-face when Project 2025 became a political liability. He denied knowing anything about...

House Democrats need to flip just four seats to take the chamber’s majority in November, and super PACs are going all out on the airwaves in battleground districts, blasting Republicans over abortion and reproductive rights in ads.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) and others hold a press conference on legislation to commercially disrupt global criminal networks and suppliers of illicit drugs like fentanyl at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 24.

Steve Jones, a Republican with little chance to win a congressional seat, at least speaks his mind. He's supporting Donald Trump.

Congressional Democrats in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and beyond are seeing an outpouring of volunteers to help Vice President Kamala Harris and counter Republican Donald Trump

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" [...]