AOC launches bid for top Democratic role on House Oversight Committee

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Democrat who helped AOC's first election win says socialist lawmaker has abandoned Queens neighborhood

A Democratic official who helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's historic first election win says the lawmaker has abandoned her constituents in Queens.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the progressive Democrat from New York, has launched a bid to serve in the top Democratic role on the House committee leading investigation efforts into the federal government.

In a letter to her fellow lawmakers on Friday, AOC announced her candidacy to serve as ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the 119th Congress, a position currently held by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

The "Squad" member, in her pitch to colleagues, noted that her focus would be to lead a Democratic effort against the incoming administration under President-elect Trump.

"This is not a position I seek lightly," the congresswoman wrote in the letter. "The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one. Now, more than ever, we must focus on the Committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life."

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. (Jemal Countess)

"In the 119th Congress, Oversight Committee Democrats will face an important task: we must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class," she continued. 

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AOC's announcement comes just days after Raskin, the committee's current ranking member, announced he would be seeking the top Democratic post again during the next Congress.

Before her announcement, it was rumored that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was reportedly interested in running for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee. (Kevin Lamarque)

AOC will also be competing for the seat against Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who recently declared his bid for the Oversight role.

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Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., currently serves as chairman of the committee, which focuses on ensuring efficiency and accountability within the federal government and its agencies.