Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is facing a powerful source of opposition in her bid to lead Democrats on the House's Oversight Committee: House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, with whom she has had a complicated relationship and who is now urging colleagues to back Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., for the top spot instead.
While Pelosi, like Connolly, is a senior member of the Democratic caucus who has served in the House for decades, that has not stopped her from backing other insurgent bids from younger members, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who conceded his post atop the Oversight Committee to challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., for leadership of the Judiciary Committee. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, and Connolly, 74, announced their respective campaigns to replace Raskin earlier this month.
