Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants to Be the Democratic Party’s Top Attack Dog

“She is strategic, surgical in her approach. She works very well with other members and our staff,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley said. “And at a time when people are looking for more diverse representatives and animated leadership from the Democratic Party on the front line, she could be incredible.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP

By Riley Rogerson and Violet Jira

December 12, 2024 05:00 AM

Rep. Gerry Connolly has served on the Oversight Committee for nearly 16 years. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has only been in Congress for six.

For generations of Democrats who put a premium on seniority, that fact would have been the only one that mattered as Democrats sort out who should lead the party on Oversight. For all of the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez’s chutzpah and star power, the more seasoned 74-year-old Connolly has the wisdom and experience.

This Congress, however, that fact might be the very reason Ocasio-Cortez becomes a ranking member — a role in which she would go toe-to-toe with a roster of high-profile, Donald Trump-adoring Republicans on perhaps the most public-facing committee on Capitol Hill.