U.S. House Democrats awarded committee leadership positions to three members on Tuesday, completing a post-election shakeup that saw some longtime lawmakers ousted. The caucus voted to make Virginia’s Gerry Connolly the ranking member on the House Oversight & Accountability Committee, Minnesota’s Angie Craig the top Democrat on House Agriculture and California’s Jared Huffman the ranking member of House Natural Resources, according to announcements posted to X. Connolly will move into the spot vacated by Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, who ran for the top Democratic spot on the powerful House Judiciary Committee. Except for Connolly, who won a race against New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all the promotions came at the expense of senior members. Craig, who is entering her fourth term, had challenged David Scott of Georgia, who just won a 12th term. Scott reportedly dropped his bid Monday to return as the ranking Democrat on the committee. Rep. Jim Costa of California also sought the position. Before Scott, the top Democrat on the committee was another Minnesotan, former Rep. Collin Peterson. Huffman, 60, will succeed longtime Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, a 76-year-old who underwent cancer treatment this year. Grijalva initially sought to retain the Natural Resources post he has held for a decade, but dropped out this month in the face of the challenge from Huffman. Grijalva, a favorite of progressive members, endorsed Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico to succeed him, but Huffman prevailed. Raskin happy, progressives disappointed Connolly’s win over Ocasio-Cortez represented the lone victory for a more senior member among the contested committee elections. The Virginian won election to his ninth term last month, while Ocasio-Cortez won her fourth. The seat was only available, though, because of Raskin’s challenge to longtime New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, who was the chair or ranking member of the Judiciary Committee for three terms. In a lengthy written statement, Raskin congratulated Connolly and said he was the right choice to lead Democratic oversight of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. “I know that incoming Ranking Member Connolly has the great tenacity, zeal, and fighting spirit needed to lead Oversight Democrats in challenging oligarchy, kleptocracy and plutocratic assaults on the federal government and our workforce,” Raskin said. “Gerry Connolly is the fighter we need. With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the whole Committee united behind him, he will be a formidable leader.” In a statement that did not mention Connolly, progressive group Our Revolution called the selection a “missed opportunity.” “House Democrats had the chance to choose bold, progressive leadership in Rep. Ocasio-Cortez,” Joseph Geervarghese, the group’s executive director wrote. Ocasio-Cortez “represents the working-class values and new generation of leadership that this moment demands—someone unafraid to call out Trump’s lies, expose corporate corruption, and hold power accountable in a way that resonates with everyday people. Instead, the party establishment chose to double down on the status quo,” he said. Zeroing in on economic issues At a press conference following their caucus meeting, Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California congratulated the new ranking members, as well as those who ran against them, but didn’t go into depth about the results of the committee elections. The winners represented “very different ideas and points within the caucus,” Aguilar said. Aguilar and other House Democratic leaders said they would seek to focus on pocketbook issues in the upcoming Congress — and would work with the administration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump to achieve results. But Aguilar and others slammed Trump for faltering on his campaign pledge to lower consumer prices. After saying on the campaign trail he would end inflation, Trump told Time magazine in an issue released last week that doing so would be difficult. “Was he lying the whole time, or has something changed?” Aguilar asked rhetorically Tuesday. At the same time as he has eased up on an inflation focus, Trump has stuck to a pledge to lower taxes for high earners and corporations, which also earned scorn from Democratic lawmakers Tuesday. “What we’re seeing now is him living up to the promises that he gave to the … wealthiest people in this country, valuing profits over our lives and our livelihood as working people,” Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost said. Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell also criticized Trump’s proposal to privatize the U.S. Postal Service, saying it would hurt rural Americans and seniors who depend on mail delivery for medication. Last updated 4:14 p.m., Dec. 17, 2024 The post U.S. House Dems elevate Connolly, Craig and Huffman to committee leadership posts appeared first on The Lexington Times.