Congress

Inside Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez’s race to lock down votes for top Oversight Democratic job

Published

2 years ago

December 13, 2024

With days to go until House Democrats decide who gets top committee spot, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Gerry Connolly of Virginia are racing to lock down votes to lead their party on the Oversight and Accountability panel.

Many Democrats saw Ocasio-Cortez as having the upper hand heading into next week, but both Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez’s camps are confident of their chances, with Connolly’s supporters saying they will have the support of a majority of the caucus and the Steering Committee. Ocasio-Cortez also has a team working to whip votes in her favor, said a person granted anonymity to discuss her operation.

The powerful Steering and Policy Committee will convene on Monday to debate and vote on recommendations to the full caucus for the committee leadership positions. Then, the full caucus will vote Tuesday morning on the committee contenders. The caucus generally follows the steering panel’s recommendations.

Connolly’s supporters believe they have roughly 130 yes or lean yes votes, according to a House Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the Virginia lawmaker’s whip count. There are 215 members of the Democratic Caucus next Congress. The House Democrat added that they were “confident” that Connolly had “locked up” both a majority of the Steering Committee and the full caucus.

“Gerry has the support of a majority of the Democratic Caucus. We are confident he will be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and I think he will be very good at that job,” said a senior Democratic aide close to Connolly’s whipping process.

Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, meanwhile, have been having conversations with a broad cross-section of the caucus as she tries to rally support for her bid. She and Connolly made closed-door presentations to the Democratic Caucus’ power centers — the tri-caucus of affinity groups and the ideological caucuses — and they’ve also quietly approached their fellow lawmakers on the House floor as they laid out their vision for the panel. The recent backing of key Democratic constituencies and belief that they have the backing of most current Oversight Committee members has bolstered the confidence of Ocasio-Cortez’s allies. Democrats see the high-profile panel as a foil to President-elect Donald Trump and his allies.

The race in many ways is a test of how far Democrats will go as they face a pent-up urge to make sweeping generational changes within the caucus, a yearslong push that threatened to boil over post-election. Democrats don’t have term limits for their panel heads, leading to grumbling among younger Democrats whose paths upward have been stifled.

Top Democratic leaders are all publicly professing neutrality in the ranking member contests and say they’ll let the caucus work its will. But former leaders aren’t bound by the same concerns.

Connolly has a powerful backer in his corner: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been privately stumping for Connolly, a longtime ally, and making calls on his behalf, according to three people familiar with the situation. She’s also been boosting her fellow Californians Rep. Jared Huffman for the Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Jim Costa for the Agriculture Committee. Punchbowl News earlier reported the Pelosi outreach.

Democrats mounted challenges to committee leaders who had faced questions about their attendance and ability to serve as ranking members amid health struggles. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) stepped out of the Judiciary race, and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) also ended his committee bid. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) has stayed in the race to be the top Agriculture Committee Democrat despite strong challengers.

But Connolly supporters reject any comparison between their race against Ocasio-Cortez and the other Democrat-on-Democrat battles and specifically point to Pelosi’s support for him. The former speaker has been unflinching in her work over the past year to pressure Democrats she feels are no longer up to the job, including President Joe Biden and reportedly Nadler, to give up their positions.

Connolly said he was diagnosed with cancer in a statement after the election. In private conversations as he sought the top Oversight spot, the House Democrat said, Connolly has pledged to his colleagues that he will be transparent about the status of his diagnosis, including if it were to unexpectedly worsen.

Connolly ran for the top Oversight job last Congress, ultimately losing to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who’s jumping to be the top Judiciary panel Democrat. A second House Democrat, granted anonymity to disclose private discussions, said that Raskin has told colleagues he is staying neutral in the race to succeed him at least until the Judiciary race is settled.

Some ideological lines were drawn too, with Ocasio-Cortez winning the Progressive Caucus endorsement and Connolly winning the endorsement of the centrist New Democrat Coalition’s leadership. Ocasio-Cortez won the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ endorsement as well, though at least one of its members — Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the chair of its political arm — is whipping for Connolly, according to the first House Democrat granted anonymity. New York Rep. Gregory Meeks (D) is also whipping for Connolly.

Congress

Nvidia’s Huang heads to Capitol Hill for AI talks

Published

1 minute ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will meet with lawmakers in Washington to discuss American leadership on artificial intelligence, the company said Monday.

A spokesperson for the chipmaker said Huang would hold talks with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to talk about latest developments with the technology.

“Jensen is in DC to meet with leaders on both sides of the aisle to discuss American leadership in AI, including leading in open source,” the spokesperson said.

Huang is scheduled to sit down Tuesday with Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has expressed serious concern about security threats following last week’s OpenAI autonomous cyberattack.

The senator’s office confirmed the meeting. Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It comes as Huang defended open-source AI on X, writing that such models “strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.”

Huang’s visit comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also expected to meet with Warner, although a spokesperson for the senator said the talks were separate. Earlier Monday, Open AI announced it was in talks with Nvidia, a technology company that makes chips to use artificial intelligence, for a data center project.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress

Texas Republican is under House Ethics investigation

Published

1 hour ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Ethics Committee said in a statement Monday it is investigating Rep. Lance Gooden, a four-term Texas Republican.

It’s unclear what the committee is probing, but the Office of Congressional Conduct, an independent investigative branch of the House, sent over findings regarding Gooden to the committee June 10.

The Ethics panel plans to release an update on its investigation by Nov. 9. Committee representatives declined to comment beyond the statement.

In 2021, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint asking for an investigation into Gooden’s apparent failure to report his stock trades in a timely manner, which is a requirement under a federal law known as the STOCK Act. The complaint was sent to the OCC.

Congress

Congressional Black Caucus members break with Jeffries, endorse against Thanedar in Michigan House race

Published

2 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A handful of members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday broke with Democratic Party leadership to endorse Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his bid to primary Rep. Shri Thanedar, an unusual move given that sitting members of the same party rarely endorse against each other.

Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford (Nev.), the former chair of the CBC, and Lateefah Simon (Calif.) called McKinney a “fighter.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (Mich.) praised McKinney as “the only trusted candidate” in the race. And Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) touted McKinney for “never [losing] sight of the people.”

“We need Donavan in Congress,” said Pressley.

The race between McKinney and Thanedar, who was elected in 2022, is the latest battleground in the ongoing ideological clash between the Democratic establishment and its progressive flank.

McKinney is hoping to capitalize on the latest wave of progressive successes in primaries, but Thanedar retains the power of the incumbency — and the backing of House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar.

Thanedar’s 2022 election marked the first time since 1955 that the majority-Black city of Detroit didn’t have a Black lawmaker representing it in Congress. And he won two years ago only after Adam Hollier, who was viewed as his most credible primary challenger, was disqualified from the ballot.

“It’s not just about having Black representation, but that is a part of what appropriate representation looks for,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who had previously backed McKinney, told Blue Light News. “You have a majority-Black district, and I think that there is certainly an appetite to see that again, or to at least make sure that a Black candidate has the opportunity to present themselves.”

In a phone call, Thanedar emphasized that he has worked closely with members of the CBC during his time in office, noting that the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) was a mentor of his and, in addition to Jeffries, he has the endorsement CBC members like Rep. Bennie Thomspon (D-Miss.).

“I am fully aware that I am representing the Blackest city in America and I’m proud of it,” Thanedar, who is Indian-American, said. “My story is like Detroit’s story — I struggled through poverty, never say die, never gave up and I have that resilience that Detroit has. The resilience of Detroit is what my life is about.”

McKinney on Monday said he was “honored” by the endorsements.

“Millions of lives across the country have been made immeasurably better because of the hard work these members have done in Congress, and I look forward to working alongside these incredible leaders to pass critical legislation to protect voting rights, get big money out of our politics, and ensure all families have access to the resources they need to not just survive, but to truly thrive,” he said in a statement.