The race to become the ranking member — the top Democrat — of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform has begun, with the party’s House caucus set to choose among four contenders in a secret ballot on June 24.
The election is currently a four-way race between Democratic Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts — the committee’s current acting ranking member — Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, Robert Garcia of California and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a prominent left-wing firebrand who serves as the committee’s vice ranking member. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar announced the election date after the late ranking member Gerry Connolly’s funeral Tuesday.
The committee states that its mission is to “ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies.” The winner of the ranking member contest would be well positioned to chair the committee — and potentially oversee an investigation against the Trump administration — if the Democrats retake the House in the 2026 midterms.
A generational split divides the four hopefuls down the middle. Crockett, 44, and Garcia, 47, are both in their second House term, while Lynch, 70, and Mfume, 76, were first elected to Congress in 2001 and 1987, respectively.
Crockett, who announced she would run for the position in a Sunday interview on MSNBC, has reportedly “blanketed her colleagues” with text messages pitching herself for the role.
“I believe in deference & frankly, the institution, but I recognize that the walls of this institution are collapsing around us and we are living in EXTRAORDINARY times, which call for an extraordinary response which is why I will seek the position of ranker for the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform,” Crockett texted her fellow lawmakers. “I am asking for your consideration because I possess the merit to serve in THIS moment.”
Democrats pushing for a generational change in the party such as embattled Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg, are advocating for Crockett to take the position.
In her MSNBC interview, Crockett also called for an investigation into the Trump administration’s decision to accept the gift of a plane from the Qatari government.
“We also will make sure that we’re looking into all these business deals that they have going on,” the congresswoman added. “Let me tell you there is no shortage of things for us to dig into.”
The firebrand lawmaker has made plenty of headlines in the past, most notably by calling Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels” in March, cutting in line to board a Delta plane ahead of wheelchair users in May and telling Elon Musk to “fuck off” in an interview with a reporter.
Meanwhile, Garcia served as the mayor of Long Beach, California for eight years, and has been touting it in his in-personconversations with colleagues, per reports. Some members and aides have said Garcia has the potential to be a top candidate, but he also has a long way to go in securing enough endorsements before the vote.
Garcia was notably one of the House members that traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to get reputed MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from prison.
Lynch, who has served as the committee’s acting ranking member since Connolly’s passing, has already vied for the job twice — coming up short against former New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney in 2019 and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, now the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, in 2022. However, after Connolly announced he would be stepping down from his leadership role in April, weeks before his death, he requested for Lynch act as ranking member and endorsed the Massachusetts lawmaker to fill the position permanently.
Mfume has also been sending texts to his colleagues, brandishing his seniority and referencing the late Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings in his outreach to lawmakers. Notably, Mfume is both Cummings’ predecessor and successor in Congress, representing a Baltimore-based district.
“I am prepared to meet that moment, as my lifelong friend and predecessor Elijah Cummings did under the first twisted Trump Administration,” Mfume sent to his colleagues. “As the main investigative House Committee, it’s important to aggressively push back now against Trump’s daily encroachment on Congressional powers.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ran and lost against Connolly for the ranking member position in December. However, the prominent socialist lawmaker is no longer on the Oversight Committee and announced in early May she would not be running to be its top Democrat.
The four contenders will have to appear before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee which will in turn make their recommendations to the Democratic caucus before the lawmakers make their final decision.
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