Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) chastised his fellow Democrats on Friday for contending to take over Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s position as the leading Democrat on the Oversight and Reform Council.
This happened after she lost her primary contest to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) previously this week. Krishnamoorthi’s remarks came on the same day Nadler was elected as the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Readying For November
Several members of the House Democratic caucus have made it public they are interested in running for the position.
This position, in the event that Democrats are in the minority following the midterms in November, will play an essential part in the party’s attempts to safeguard President Joe Biden, while Republicans start investigating the administration.
Rep. Krishnamoorthi on Oversight race: pic.twitter.com/oi0Ob0EiK9
— Jordain Carney (@jordainc) August 26, 2022
In light of the current political climate, Krishnamoorthi, who’s currently serving as chair of the House Oversight Committee’s Review panel on Economic and Consumer Legislation, stated he believes it to be a bit improper to be rallying for a review panel leadership position.
He stated at this time, they have to maintain a laser-like concentration on the upcoming midterm elections that were staring them in the face.
He added many of their peers are in tough fights. As a result, he is focusing on getting those Democrats, himself, and red-to-blue aspirants voted into office in November so they can prevent McCarthy from becoming the majority leader.
Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) are two Democrats who have made it obvious they are interested in the position. Additionally, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) recently informed Punchbowl News that he is “seriously contemplating” running for the position.
Division, Division, Division
However, Krishnamoorthi did not completely discount the possibility of running himself.
He went on to say it was “concerning” that out of 29 House committees (standing, select, and joint), only one has a chairman of Asian American Pacific Islander background.
On top of that, there has never been a chair or ranking representative of a full House committee of South Asian ethnicity.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi swipes at his colleagues for "unseemly" jockeying for the top Dem spot on House Oversight before November, but doesn't rule out a run himself, noting the lack of AAPI committee leads: pic.twitter.com/PP1UHCTcxp
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) August 26, 2022
He also reiterated, once again, that the Democrat Party’s primary political focus now should be on prevailing in November, rather than on racking up various political victories in different caucus elections.
Maloney and Nadler, her being a long-standing House colleague from New York City and Nadler’s former ally, were competing against one another in a primary election for the position of committee chairperson, which created a vacuum in that position.
The recent gerrymandering process in New York pitted Nadler, whose political base is on the Upper West Side, opposite Maloney, whose political base is on the Upper East Side, in the new 12th District.
The race was won by Nadler with a significant margin of victory.
This article appeared in The Political Globe and has been published here with permission.
