Category: House Oversight and Reform Committee

Raskin wins top Democratic seat on powerful Oversight Committee

Posted on (Updated by Mike Lillis

House Democrats voted Thursday to make Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) the top Democrat on the powerful Oversight and Reform Committee in the next Congress, a pivotal role in the defense of President Biden as Republicans prepare to take control of the lower chamber next year. 

Raskin, a six-year House veteran, defeated Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) in the closed-door, secret-ballot vote on Capitol Hill, where the full caucus gathered to finalize their committee roster heading into the 118th Congress. 

A third member of the committee, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), had also been a part of the race to replace the current Oversight chair, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who lost an August primary to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Lynch dropped out of the contest after he placed third in last week’s vote of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, an influential panel that helps to guide the party’s committee assignments, leaving Raskin and Connolly to face off before the full caucus on Thursday.

Connolly was the more senior of the two on the Oversight panel — a relevant distinction in a party that’s traditionally favored seniority when choosing top committee spots. 

Yet the preference given to committee veterans has eroded gradually in recent years. And Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, has built a sturdy national profile in his short time on Capitol Hill, leading the House’s second impeachment of former President Trump after last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, and later joining the select committee investigating the riot.

Raskin had argued that his legal background made him the best candidate for the position. Connolly had countered that his long experience in the Oversight trenches made him the better fit.

The Oversight panel, with subpoena authority and a broad mandate to probe federal affairs, is among the most powerful panels in Congress. And with Republicans set to take control of the House next year, the position of ranking member will assume even greater importance. 

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who is in line to lead the Oversight panel next year, is already promising a host of investigations into topics as varied — and controversial — as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of the coronavirus and the international business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

--Updated at 12:42 p.m.

Raskin launches bid to lead House Oversight panel

Posted on (Updated by Mike Lillis

The race for the top Democratic seat on the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee got more crowded on Friday when Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) entered the contest to replace the outgoing chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).

Maloney lost her primary race on Tuesday to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), ending a 30-year career on Capitol Hill and opening up the top panel seat in the next Congress.

Raskin's decision to seek the spot pits him against two other, more veteran Oversight Democrats — Reps. Stephen Lynch (Mass.) and Gerry Connolly (Va.), who launched their candidacies on Wednesday.

Democrats have traditionally favored seniority when choosing top committee spots, which would seem to place Raskin at a disadvantage in the race.

Still, the three-term congressman has built a sturdy national profile in his short time on Capitol Hill, leading the House's second impeachment of former President Trump after last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol, and now playing a high-profile role in the investigation of the attacks.

A former professor of constitutional law, Raskin is now making the case that his legal background makes him the best candidate to lead the Democrats on the Oversight panel.

"We are still in the fight of our lives to defend American constitutional democracy and—by extension—political freedom and human rights all over the world," Raskin wrote Friday to his fellow Democrats in a letter obtained by The Hill.