Washington — House Democrats on Tuesday elected Rep. Robert Garcia of California as the new ranking member of the House Oversight Committee following the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly last month.
“I am incredibly honored to have been obviously elected the ranking member for the Oversight Committee,” Garcia told reporters after the vote, saying the panel would get “immediately to work,” while citing an opportunity to “continue holding the corruption of Donald Trump accountable and also doing incredible work on government reform.”
Though Democrats are currently in the minority, as the new ranking member, Garcia would be in line to chair the Oversight Committee if Democrats retake the House in 2026, halfway through President Trump’s second term. During Mr. Trump’s first term, the committee led numerous investigations into the Trump administration after Democrats won the House in 2018.
Connolly’s death came weeks after the Virginia Democrat announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026 and would be stepping back from his post as the top Democrat on the committee because his cancer had returned. He was 75 years old.
Connolly had been elected to the top committee post months earlier, as the committee’s members rejected a push by some to tap a younger generation of lawmakers to lead the party on top panels. Connolly defeated 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to become the ranking member of the powerful committee.
Oversight Committee Democrats vied for the ranking member post after Connolly announced his departure from the role. And though Ocasio-Cortez opted not to seek the post, having left the committee months earlier, the contest quickly became crowded.
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Garcia, a 47-year-old who currently serves as Democratic Caucus Leadership Representative, initially faced off against three other Democrats — Reps. Stephen Lynch of of Massachusetts, Kweisi Mfume of Maryland and Jasmine Crockett of Texas — for the post. Lynch, 70, served as the acting ranking member, while Mfume, 76, is high in the committee’s ranks. And Crockett, 44, is seen as a rising star in the caucus, known for viral moments on the committee.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after the vote that “all four candidates were excellent,” saying that while all of them could have done a “great job internally,” the question revolved around who could most successfully share the caucus’ message.
“It came down to two candidates, both excellent,” Pelosi added.
In a caucus vote Tuesday, Garcia defeated Lynch for the top post in a 150-63 vote.
The selection of a new top Democrat on the committee comes after a shakeup in committee leadership assignments in the party at the beginning of this Congress illustrated tensions over a potential generational shift. Long-serving top Democrats on the Judiciary, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees stepped away from the top spots amid challenges from younger Democrats as the party prepared to counter Republican efforts with a GOP trifecta in Washington.
Garcia said he brings experience to the role, while also acknowledging the party’s interest in “expanding the tent” and bringing in “newer voices to the leadership and to this committee.”
“We are 100% committed to winning the majority and making Hakeem Jeffries the speaker,” Garcia said.
