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Just before the steering committee decided to vote on the energy and business slots, President Nancy Pelosi and her management team presented a list of their preferred candidates for four of the five seats.
But notably, the top Democrats failed to pick a candidate for the final seat, which is essentially reserved for a member from New York – forcing Rice and Ocasio-Cortez to face a face-to-face meeting.
The panel embarked on a series of intense speeches about each candidate, with several Democrats speaking out to pressure Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman and social media star who is viewed as a political threat by many moderates. of the caucus for his far left. Strategies. During the video call, several Democrats called out Ocasio-Cortez’s efforts to help liberal challengers eliminate their own incumbents, as well as his refusal to pay the party’s campaign dues.
“I take into account who works against other members in the primaries and who doesn’t,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said on the call, according to multiple sources. Cuellar managed to fend off a main challenge from Jessica Cisneros, backed by Ocasio-Cortez.
Most top Democrats have been reluctant from the start to enter the competition between the two New York Tigers. This includes members of the New York delegation, who signed letters of support for both, rather than risking ruffling feathers by supporting a candidate.
Ocasio-Cortez garnered some support from senior Democrats including Rep. Jerry Nadler (DN.Y.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee who serves as the dean of the state delegation and signed his letter of support but not Rice’s. (That in itself was a point of contention between the two suitors, with Ocasio-Cortez citing Nadler’s signature to say she had the delegation’s support alone.)
Rice was ultimately among five Democrats to win a contested spot on the exclusive committee, alongside Reps Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) and Lori Trahan ( D-Mass.).
Ten Democrats were initially vying for places on the panel, although several withdrew in the final minutes, just before the steering committee announced Pelosi’s slate. Democrats expected to fill just two or three seats, though the committee was eventually expanded to add five amid intense caucus interest.
Not everyone was happy with its leaders’ decision to only propose the New York seat for a head-to-head vote. Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) Argued that the steering committee should vote on each individual seat, saying she would not vote on a “partial list.”
Pelosi, however, stepped in and convinced the panel to embrace the leadership choices, while also taking a separate vote on the seat Rice and Ocasio-Cortez sought.
The jockey between the two New Yorkers has been the most watched contest within the Democratic caucus in recent weeks, having big implications for politics and power in the next Congress.
Rice, who was set to win the seat, tried to block Pelosi from leading House Democrats in the 116th Congress and is now seen as a crucial vote for the president this time around, as Democrats have a slimmer majority. It’s a big turnaround for the Long Island Democrat and former prosecutor: After denouncing Pelosi’s presidency, Rice was denied a seat on his favorite committee – the judiciary – just two years ago .
But Ocasio-Cortez also made a hard effort and was the first member to ask for support from the New York delegation. Several New Yorkers, including elected representative Mondaire Jones, spoke in favor of him at the steering meeting.
Progressives both inside and outside Capitol Hill said it would be essential to have Ocasio-Cortez on the Energy and Trade Committee to help influence critical policies in the early days of the Biden administration.
But some senior Democrats, including on the Energy and Trade panel, had privately voiced concerns about Ocasio-Cortez. Some feared that the Flaming Democrat, who supports progressive priorities like the “Green New Deal” and “Medicare for All,” could cause trouble as Congress attempts to draft bipartisan health and climate policies next year.
The New York delegation was not the only one having problems: the Texas delegation, too, ultimately decided to support two members rather than pick one. Both reps Sylvia Garcia and Lizzie Fletcher were vying for a spot, and Fletcher was later chosen as part of Pelosi’s slate.
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