In her bid to become the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has seemingly found an unlikely ally in panel Chair James Comer, R-Ky.
"I'm a big AOC fan," Comer told CNN on Thursday. "Obviously, I don't agree with very much of her policy, but I think she's a good person, I think she's very well-spoken. I did not have a good relationship with Jamie Raskin, I don't think that's any secret.
"I tell the press when they ask about the race for ranking member, the Democrats have nowhere to go but up after having Jamie Raskin for the last four years, so, I think AOC would be great,” Comer said. “Gerry Connolly would be great ... but I certainly look forward to working with the next ranking member.
"If it's AOC, I think we'll have a good working relationship,” he added. “We'll obviously have a lot of differences on policy, but I think she's a good, well-spoken person for the Democrats to serve in that position.”
The 35-year-old New York Democrat announced on Friday that she will seek to replace Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., as the Oversight Committee’s ranking member, competing against Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., for the position.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that Ocasio-Cortez has garnered the support of the majority of panel Democrats, who are reportedly younger and more progressive than in previous years.
Raskin announced his plans Dec. 2 to challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., for the ranking member spot on next year’s House Judiciary Committee. On Dec. 4, Nadler announced his decision to step down from his leadership role on the panel.
“This is where we will wage our front-line defense of the freedoms and rights of the people, the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI, and the security of our most precious birthright possessions: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and democracy itself," Raskin wrote in a letter to Democrat colleagues announcing his bid.
If she succeeds, Ocasio-Cortez would be the youngest member to ever serve on the panel as ranking member. Meanwhile, Connolly, her 74-year-old rival, has served eight terms in the House.
In a statement, Ocasio-Cortez called the “responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second” White House term 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," she added.
In a separate interview with CNN on Thursday, Connolly said he feels that the contest is about “experience” rather than “generational change or an age gap.”
"I think it's about capability, and seasoning, and experience," Connolly said. "That's what I'm running on. I think I've shown my ability over 16 years on the committee to take the fight to the other side and propound and defend and advocate for democratic values."
"I'm good with the media, I'm good with the public," he added. "I know how to interrogate witnesses, and I know how to manage a committee, so those are the credentials I'm putting forward to my colleagues, and I'm feeling pretty good about it."
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