Outspoken progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas dropped her bid Tuesday to become the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee after it became clear she lacked the votes.
“It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for, and so I didn’t think that it was fair for me to then push forward and try to rebuke that,” the lefty pol told reporters.
Democrats later anointed Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) to become their ranking member on the Oversight panel, replacing late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who died last month.
Crockett, who has a penchant for going viral during committee hearings with her incendiary rhetoric, had touted her ability to go on the offense during the internal party battle to succeed Connolly.
She acknowledged Tuesday that “people may be disappointed” by her loss but vowed to remain a “team player” nonetheless.
On Monday, Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted on the successor to Connolly, and Crocket dropped hints that she came in last place. Later Tuesday, Democrats held a caucus meeting and voted Garcia as the ranking member.
“Congratulations [Robert Garcia] for being elected Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee,” Crockett wrote on X after the California rep was selected. “The work of this committee has never been more critical. Let’s get the American people the accountability they deserve.”
Crockett’s loss marks the latest setback for the hard-left flank of progressives who wanted to put a firebrand as the top Democrat on the powerful investigative committee.
Last year, “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was bested by Connolly in her quest to serve as ranking member.
Garcia vowed after clinching the coveted spot, “We will hold Donald Trump and his Administration accountable for their corruption — and work to make our government more effective for the American people.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is currently mounting an investigation into Biden’s cognitive state and use of the autopen on key executive orders and presidential actions.
Comer has secured testimony from key Biden figures such as his physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor and former aide Neera Tanden, who spoke to the panel Tuesday.
Democrats were forced to reckon with Biden’s condition thanks to the release of the Jake Tapper tome “Original Sin,” which detailed a cover-up to conceal the 46th president’s infirmity.
Crockett has hit back against concerns about Biden’s cognition and instead gone on the offense against Republicans.
“Even if we want to say — which I refuse to accept — that Joe Biden was mentally deficient, let me tell you something, his mental deficiency is still a thousand times better than what we currently have,” Crockett said on Katie Couric’s “Next Question” podcast last week.
The Texas rep has made a name for herself during viral confrontations with Republicans. Last year, for instance, she sniped that firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had a “bleach blonde, bad-built butch body.”
Her antics have drawn President Trump’s ire, who bashed her as “a seriously Low IQ individual” on Tuesday.