A top House Democrat is stepping down from a key committee post and not running for reelection months after beating out socialist Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) for his current position.
Representative Gerry Connolly (D., Va.), 75, announced Monday he is stepping down as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, a high-profile congressional panel, and ending his decades-long political career.
“The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress. I will be stepping back as Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee soon. With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years. My loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family – you all have been a joy to serve,” Connolly said in a statement.
His district, Virginia’s eleventh, is located in the deep blue suburbs of Washington, D.C., and is home to many federal employees.
Connolly is stepping down because his esophageal cancer returned after he initially made progress against it. He was diagnosed with cancer shortly after being reelected this past November. For the time being, Connolly has spoken with Representative Stephen Lynch (D., Ma.) about taking over his post until a permanent Oversight Committee ranking member is elected, according to Politico.
Connolly’s contest against Ocasio-Cortez last fall for the Oversight Committee’s leadership post was seen by many as a generational competition within the Democratic Party as it began looking for a way out of the political wilderness following its difficult 2024 election cycle.
Democrats lost the presidency to Donald Trump and the Senate Majority, giving Republicans full control of Congress at the start of a second Trump term. Multiple House Democratic leaders were replaced with younger alternatives as lawmakers jockeyed for committee posts after the 2024 election. Congressional Democrats have attempted to steadfastly fight the Trump administration’s range of policy initiatives, and some critics have lambasted older party leaders for not being up for the fight.
Ocasio-Cortez no longer sits on the Oversight panel, instead taking a position on the Energy & Commerce Committee, complicating a potential attempt to claim Connolly’s position. She remains one of the party’s most polarizing and prominent figures as a darling of the leftist wing of the party.
Meanwhile, she is traveling the country with socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on his “fighting oligarchy tour” to hold campaign-style rallies and rail against the influence of billionaires and large corporations. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have chartered flights on a private jet for the oligarchy tour, seemingly contradicting their critiques of the ultra-wealthy individuals who own such planes.