Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) took aim at Democrats for choosing Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in the upcoming conference.
“While I think both are absolutely qualified, I think within the Democratic Caucus we're really stuck in our old way of doing things, which is you get there by seniority. And so, if you've been there longer, you get the mail, and I don't think we're going to completely sit there and say, 'Who might be best equipped for this moment?'” Crocket said on MSNBC on Saturday, as highlighted .by Mediaite.
Crocket, a member of the committee, added that while she doesn't necessarily think Connolly is incapable of leading the committee right now, she does believe Democratic voters are looking for leaders in Congress who are open to for new steps.
“I think they're saying, 'We're looking to all of you to show us that you're willing to shake things up if it means we can move this country forward,'” Crockett said.
Connolly defeated Ocasio-Cortez for the top spot for Democrats on the committee in a vote earlier this month. Connolly's victory was the expected result after Monday, when the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), voted to appoint the Virginian to the role command.
Connolly was also endorsed by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who lobbied on his behalf.
During the interview, Crockett also suggested that Democrats should consider adopting time limits for leadership positions on committees — a strategy that would align with the Republican Conference's rule limiting chairs and rankings to serving no more than three consecutive terms .
“I think we'll have some conversations within the caucus about how we exercise leadership, because on the Republican side they have term limits and so you can't stay in those posts for very long, so they'll end up handing out their leadership a lot more often. more often than we do on the Democratic side,” Crockett said.
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