Congress
Robert Garcia is a young Democrat with an old-style approach to moving up the House ladder
Rep. Robert Garcia wants to usher in a new era for Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. But don’t ask the 47-year-old Californian if he’s seeking “generational change.”
Garcia has instead fashioned his candidacy for his party’s top leadership post on the panel around his experience as a big-city mayor and contributions on the Oversight panel, sidestepping the age and seniority questions that have roiled the Democratic Party.
That careful approach — calibrated to appeal widely inside a House Democratic Caucus whose members are both eager to promote fresh faces and wary of sticking fingers in the eyes of party elders — has allowed Garcia, only in his second term, to emerge as the prohibitive favorite in the closely watched internal contest to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly.
Garcia has emerged as a middle-ground choice ahead of next week’s caucus election for Oversight ranking member that is putting two older lawmakers — Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, 70, and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, 76 — against two younger Democrats: Garcia and 44-year-old Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
His careful pitch was on display in a recent interview, when he sought to thread a needle between a Democratic base demanding an aggressive confrontation with President Donald Trump and the more delicate sensibilities of fellow House Democrats, whose votes he is courting.
“The seniority system in Congress is not going to go away,” Garcia said, playing down the notion that the race is a proxy battle in a larger war over the future of the Democratic Party. “There’s an opportunity here to expand who’s at that table, and I bring a different kind of experience. I may not have the most time served in Congress, but I certainly would put my experience up against anybody’s.”
His approach was no doubt informed by the last election for Democratic leadership of the Oversight panel, where Connolly was elected at age 74 last year over 35-year-old progressive stalwart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Connolly’s sudden illness and death from esophageal cancer in May only served to rekindle the quiet but urgent conversation about whether Democrats need to promote younger leaders.
Crockett has been more outspoken in presenting herself as the face of that younger, more confrontational generation. She’s built a reputation as a partisan brawler in viral committee-room exchanges and cable-TV appearances. She has raised eyebrows inside the caucus, for instance, by openly discussing pursuing a Trump impeachment should Democrats retake the majority next year.
“For me, it starts with: How do we motivate the base? I think that I am the singular candidate that can really motivate and excite the base,” she told reporters last week leaving a closed-door candidate meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus.
Committee leadership contests, however, tend to center on inside-the-building glad-handing than appeals to voters at large, and that is the campaign Garcia has undertaken. After backing Ocasio-Cortez for the Oversight job last Congress, Garcia has taken pains to avoid the pitfalls she faced. He has personally met with all but a handful of the 214 sitting House Democrats, according to a person granted anonymity to describe his strategy.
In the interview, the former mayor of Long Beach cast himself less as an anti-Trump attack dog and more as a consensus-builder. He shied away from talk of impeaching Trump, calling it “premature” without buy-in from other Democrats, and emphasized that the committee would do more than bulldog the Trump administration under a Democratic majority.
That has been welcome to members who have been put off by some of Crockett’s comments, including her willingness to entertain impeachment. “You can’t get out ahead of your skis if you’re weighing something as serious as this, that requires real buy-in from battleground members and safe-seat members,” said one battleground Democrat who was granted anonymity to react candidly.
There are signs the more prudent approach is paying off. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has already endorsed Garcia, the only Latino member running for the job, while other powerful groups including the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and New Democrat Coalition appear unlikely to endorse.
He’s also expected to receive strong support from the 43-member delegation of California Democrats — a historically formidable bloc — and he’s earned plaudits from colleagues who appreciate the millions of dollars he’s raised for the party and candidates as they gear up for an expensive fight to retake the House.
“I really value the people who pay their dues early and on time and who give to other people,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a DCCC national finance co-chair who is supporting Garcia.
Garcia isn’t entirely playing the inside game by any means. He has occasionally sought to bait his Republican colleagues on the Oversight panel and at times has tested what kind of rhetoric crosses the line.
At a hearing of an Oversight subcommittee set up to work alongside Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, Garcia announced he would display a “dick pic.” He proceeded to unveil a headshot of Musk, after reminding colleagues how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — the well-known conservative provocateur who chairs the subpanel — had shown nude photos of presidential son Hunter Biden at a previous committee meeting.
Garcia is also among a handful of Democrats — alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver and California Sen. Alex Padilla — who have found themselves in federal law enforcement crosshairs under Trump: In February, a prosecutor appointed by Trump threatened to investigate him after he openly suggested that the public wants Democrats to “bring actual weapons to this bar fight” for democracy.
Garcia denied making any actual threat and said he would not be intimidated.
“I’m not afraid of Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, or Donald Trump, or other folks that are trying to cause harm,” he said in the interview — a sentiment that could appeal to Democrats, like Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont, who want younger, more aggressive leaders to step up.
“We as a caucus need to have structures in place to allow young talent to be cultivated whether it is members who have only been here a few years,” said Balint. “This is what our voters want, so let’s do something about it.”
Trouble for Hakeem Jeffries is brewing close to home.
New Yorkers will decide Tuesday whether to support a slate of insurgent progressive candidates who are bullish about bucking the party establishment: Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez.
The Zohran Mamdani-backed trio are taking on incumbent, leadership allies: Reps. Dan Goldman, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat as well as outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who endorsed a different successor.
The progressive challengers are positioning themselves as firebrands willing to play hardball to force the Democratic Caucus leftward. Take Chevalier, a Democratic Socialists of America member who told Vox last week that “all deportations are wrong” including for people who have been convicted of breaking U.S. law. Neither she nor Valdez have said if they would back Jeffries as speaker should Democrats take the majority.
In addition to presenting a long-term headache for a potential Jeffries speakership, progressive challenger wins would deliver an immediate blow to Jeffries’ credibility as a power broker in his own backyard. He endorsed Goldman and Espaillat.
As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer weighs a 2028 reelection bid, he too will be paying close attention to the depth of lefty, anti-incumbent fervor among voters in his state.
Democratic leadership’s old guard will also be on watch Tuesday evening as Maryland decides who will replace former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: his preferred successor Adrian Boafo or his old frenemy Nancy Pelosi’s pick of former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.
Democrats have been divided on the race from the jump, with Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks also backing Boafo. Fellow Marylander — and maybe 2028 presidential candidate — Sen. Chris Van Hollen got in on the action last month by knocking Boafo for taking AIPAC and crypto money.
And a PSA: The many, many self-funded campaign ads from warring Democratic millionaires Rep. April McClain Delaney and her predecessor David Trone – who is trying to win his seat back after losing a Senate bid in 2024 – will come to an end Tuesday night.
Republicans won’t escape the messy primary day.
In Utah, House GOP leadership member Rep. Blake Moore will attempt to beat challenger Karianne Lisonbee who is taking him to task for once opposing partisan gerrymandering. An AI proxy war is also playing out in Rep. Celeste Maloy’s district where former state Rep. Phil Lyman is attacking the congresswoman — who has received nearly $1 million from an Anthropic-funded super PAC — over data center construction.
Yet, at least one House Republican is pulling for a Democrat Tuesday evening.
Vulnerable GOP Rep. Mike Lawler has meddled in the Democratic primary to run against him. Jason Beeferman reports that Lawler has tried to tear down Army vet Cait Conley via a covert text blast, among other tactics, seeming to prefer that he get to run against her opponent Beth Davidson.
What else we’re watching:
— TRUMP TO GET SAVE AMERICA ACT REALITY CHECK IN SENATE: President Donald Trump was invited to Republican senators’ lunch Wednesday to push for his No. 1 priority, the GOP election bill known as the SAVE America Act. But several outgoing Republicans who have clashed with Trump said Monday they will be there to deliver a reality check: The bill isn’t passing, and it’s time to move on.
— SCHUMER FORCES IRAN WAR POWERS VOTE ON WARY GOP: Schumer Tuesday plans to force the Senate to vote on a House-passed Iran war powers resolution – putting on record Republicans who are publicly skeptical of Trump’s agreement last week to end the conflict. The measure won House approval earlier this month after four House Republicans joined Democrats to effectively halt military operations unless Congress authorizes it.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Senate Republicans’ farm bill proposal rejects Democrats’ demands to delay a planned shift of some food aid costs to states, according to three people familiar with the plans — jeopardizing hopes of winning bipartisan support for the package.
Democrats say they will oppose a farm bill that doesn’t push back a requirement that will soon force some states to pay for some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a provision included in the domestic policy megalaw Republicans passed last year.
Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) gave Senate staff and industry representatives a private preview of his farm bill text Monday afternoon ahead of a planned public release of the discussion draft at 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to the people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss the not-yet-public plans.
Boozman will need some Democratic support to guarantee the bill can clear the 60-vote threshold on the Senate floor.
A GOP spokesperson for the Agriculture Committee said Boozman had “developed a discussion draft that can earn the bipartisan support needed for Senate passage.” The spokesperson added that Boozman will continue talks with senators and industry representatives while “finalizing text and moving toward a markup.”
The draft legislation also excludes some Republican and agriculture industry priorities, such as provisions that would allow year-round sales of E15 fuel and block states from creating certain animal welfare and pesticide labeling laws, according to the three people.
Senators from both parties are already eyeing how they might amend the bill to include their priorities. That could muddy the legislation’s path forward by generating a number of conflicts during the committee’s markup ahead of a potential floor vote on the package.
Some GOP senators whose state budgets would be hard hit by the change have privately indicated that they would support delaying the provision, which is set to begin October 2027.
Those senators and anti-hunger advocates argue the SNAP cost-share plan will kick people off the program and lead to benefit cuts. Democrats also note that many states will already receive delays or exemptions to the cost-share requirement due to high or low payment error rates.
Boozman said in an interview last month that he was “open to listening” to Democrats’ argument, but contended it could complicate his efforts to craft a budget-neutral bill.
The Senate’s version largely mirrors the House’s, which passed with 12 Democratic votes in April. Boozman is aiming to mark up his bill between the chamber’s Fourth of July and August recesses.
Donald Trump is about to come face to face with one of his frequent punching bags: Senate Republicans.
They might just be in a mood to punch back.
The president was invited to GOP senators’ Wednesday lunch to push for his No. 1 priority, the GOP election bill known as the SAVE America Act. But several outgoing Republicans who have clashed with Trump said Monday they will be there to deliver a reality check: The bill isn’t passing, and it’s time to move on.
“I’m going to be there front and center,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters. “It will be important if it actually is a constructive exchange of different opinions, and hopefully we can all get on the same page. Right now, we’re not in a great place.”
Cornyn, who recently lost his bid for a fifth term to a Trump-endorsed challenger, reiterated the votes just aren’t there to pass the elections bill: “I’ve been around here long enough and been through enough battles and counted enough votes to know that it doesn’t just magically occur, no matter how much you wish it would happen.”
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — who are also departing the Senate in part due to Trump — said Monday they, too, will be at the closed-door lunch and urged Trump to turn the page on the SAVE America Act.
“I’m a co-sponsor, but it doesn’t have the votes, and so it’s time to talk about something else,” said Cassidy, who also lost to a Trump-backed primary opponent.
Trump was invited to the Wednesday lunch by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who oversees the weekly gathering as GOP steering committee chair, at a tenuous moment. Senate Republicans have grown frustrated with Trump’s fixation on the elections bill, are openly questioning parts of his Iran deal and worry that his habit of blindsiding them with sudden policy U-turns is making it harder to preserve their majority in November.
Scott’s invitation comes as the elections bill has emerged as a perennial headache for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, whom Scott informed of the invite after it was extended. Thune and other members of the GOP conference insist it doesn’t have the votes to pass and have begged Trump to focus on more attainable priorities.
Same goes, they say, for other Trump demands — killing the 60-vote filibuster threshold for legislation, for instance, and ending the “blue slip” practice of giving home-state senators a say on some presidential nominees.
“None of those are going to happen here, and we need to be honest with the president,” Tillis said. “So why don’t we spend more time being productive about how we communicate, when we communicate, and get some of these very pressing issues done?”
But Trump has shown he will not relent, especially on the SAVE America Act — a bill that would impose new proof-of-citizenship and identification requirements for U.S. voters in its base form, with the president demanding still other controversial provisions added on top of that.
In a Truth Social post late last week, Trump name-checked Thune and urged the Senate to nix the filibuster and approve the bill: “Anybody who doesn’t want to Terminate the Filibuster is a FOOL, a very stupid one, at that!”
Several GOP senators, including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have objected to the precedent the bill would set by nationalizing election procedures. Test votes on the bill have not garnered more than 48 supporters, though a narrower bill focused on voter ID won 50 votes. That’s still far short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a certain Democratic filibuster.
Asked late last week about Trump’s comments, Thune said a majority of Senate Republicans have long-held views against nixing the filibuster.
“It’s not a question of what I want to do or don’t want to do,” he said. “It does always come back to the math. And … there just aren’t the votes to do it.”
Thune said Monday that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the election bill comes up but predicted it would be a “back and forth” between Trump and GOP senators over multiple subjects, including the brewing Iran deal and the stalemate over a key surveillance law and future of the director of national intelligence post.
He added that “hopefully” the discussion would include “celebrating some of our successes, talking about the path forward.”
The GOP election bill has become a consistent friction point within the party and within the Senate GOP conference. Senate Republicans largely support the bill but believe the party needs to turn its focus to Democrats, rather than fighting each other, with just months to go until the midterms.
Republican senators have kvetched for months about how they believe Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is setting unrealistic expectations for the bill’s passage. Lee posted on X over the weekend that he spoke with Trump and “he’s as convinced as I am that we can get this done if the Senate’s willing to do the hard work.”
Cornyn called out Lee Monday, saying that he “is contributing to this fantasy that somehow it’s going to happen.”
Lee responded that the election bill isn’t a fantasy but “a plan to avoid a nightmare — one that’s coming soon unless we act.”
Senate Republicans agreed to take up the voting bill earlier this year, in part after leaders privately reassured wary GOP senators that the debate wouldn’t result in an attempt to skirt the 60-vote filibuster. But the weekslong debate failed to break the stalemate on the bill, and Senate Republicans ultimately placed it on the back burner as other legislative deadlines piled up.
Conservatives, however, hadn’t forgotten about the bill, and now they want the Senate to continue to vote on it.
Scott — who came in third in the leadership contest Thune won after the 2024 election— sent a letter to his fellow Senate Republicans Monday, a copy of which was obtained by Blue Light News, saying that he wanted to have “robust conversations” this week about what the party should be focused on before the midterms. That, he said, should include voting on the SAVE America Act or narrower voter ID legislation.
“We need to make a clear distinction as to who the good guys are and who the bad guys are,” Scott wrote in the letter. “We need to show voters that we are listening to them and will fight for their priorities whether any Democrats vote with us or not.”
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