Democrats pick Gerry Connolly for Oversight post, rejecting Ocasio-Cortez bid

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats on Tuesday picked 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly to lead the party next year atop an influential congressional committee, pushing aside growing calls for generational change in leadership ahead of a second term for Donald Trump.

In a closed-door meeting, the majority of the caucus voted for Connolly to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee over 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned on calls to pass the torch to younger leaders. Connolly has seniority on the committee, having served on it for 16 years. The vote was 131-84.

“I think my colleagues were measuring their votes by who’s got experience, who is seasoned, who can be trusted, who’s capable and who’s got a record of productivity and I think that prevailed,” Connolly told reporters after the vote.

The Virginia Democrat on Monday had won the endorsement of a Democratic panel that makes recommendation for committee assignments. But Ocasio-Cortez and her allies had said the initial vote was close enough to keep her in the race and try again at Tuesday's caucus-wide meeting.