Politico: The big decision that could shape AOC's future

[Dennis Donovan]

Politico - The big decision that could shape AOC’s future

A career move that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pursued five months ago might make less sense now.



By Nicholas Wu and Holly Otterbein
04/30/2025 04:45 AM EDT

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is at a crossroads — again.

Five months ago, she chose to play the inside game with her fellow House Democrats, running for her party’s top post on the high-profile Oversight Committee. She came up short to a more senior lawmaker, Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, and left the committee entirely.

Now she has a second chance. Connolly unexpectedly announced Monday he will soon step aside for health reasons, leaving her with another critical choice — one made even more momentous by how much has changed inside the Democratic Party since she last chose to try and move up the House ranks.

Faced with the stresses of President Donald Trump’s second term, Democratic voters are yearning for younger and more assertive leadership. Many see exactly what they are looking for in Ocasio-Cortez, 35, who has traveled the country in recent months, packing rally after rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and fueling speculation about a potential White House run.

In other words, the stage afforded as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee is suddenly looking a whole lot smaller, and Ocasio-Cortez is remaining publicly and privately noncommittal as speculation swirls about Connolly’s successor.

/snip

[walkingman]

1. I hope she runs and wins - she would be an excellent choice

for our party. Her recent touring with Bernie has been impressive and we need someone not intimidated by the GOP leadership.

[Celerity]

2. I wager Pelosi & Dem leadership will block her by not granting a waiver (AOC needs a waiver to switch committees) IF AOC

even runs for ranking member, which she may well decline to do so anyway.

Even if they do grant her a waiver, Pelosi will likely whip votes against her again, and in general there are just too many Dem centrists/moderates/conservatives who will not vote for her for any leadership role, at least atm.

[walkingman]

3. According to Albert Einstein -

The definition of insanity is 'Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results'.

[Celerity]

5. Citizens United has rat-fucked the nation. The huge (personal and corporate) Dem donors do not want (on balance)

progressives in leadership positions, and the Dem establishment power structure plays in ways designed to not lose that giant pot of money. Also, the centrist/moderate/conservative Dem House caucuses now easily (when combined) now outnumber the Progressive Caucus. Just one moderate/centrist corporate-friendly House caucus (the New Democrat Coalition) is now easily the largest single one, and then you have the even more anti-progressive No Labels founded/run Problem Solvers and the conservadem Blue Dogs.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. That is a great picture of her, what a pair of eyebrows.. /nt