House Democrats are looking to regroup with a change in leadership after their defeat in November’s election.
Alsa Chan, host:
Democrats have been trying to regroup in recent weeks after Republicans won the presidential election and control of both houses of Congress. For House Democrats, the search for a way out of the political wilderness involves congressional committees as a platform for a new generation of leaders and messengers. NPR Congressional Correspondent Claudia Grisales has more.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin has no interest in settling for election defeat. He says Democrats need to pivot to what he calls the fight of their lives.
Jamie Raskin: When you’re in politics, losing an election is a shock to the system.
GRISALES: That’s Raskin inside the Capitol, explaining his efforts to lead the party’s opposition to Republicans on the powerful House Judiciary Committee. The committee’s longtime top Democrat, New York state Rep. Jerry Nadler, resigned this week, paving the way for a new voice on the committee that could attract a lot of national attention. Republicans have the power to move President-elect Donald Trump’s policies next year, but the committees are a place where Democrats can slow things down and send a message.
Raskin: So you have to figure out strategically and tactically what went wrong and what needs to change. And, you know, as we go through that process, we need to figure out who we want to fill different roles.
Grisales: Raskin gained attention the last time Trump was president. He was in charge of the impeachment case against President Trump over the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and was a central figure on the special committee investigating President Trump’s role in the riot. This Congress, Mr. Raskin became the top Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee. Now, the move to the judiciary could start a domino effect, with some of the party’s rising stars rising to prominence.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: We are now beginning to regroup and prepare in earnest for the battle ahead.
GRISALES: That’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York. He is the party’s second-ranking member on the oversight committee and has just begun his bid for the top spot. She is running against another senior member, Gerry Connolly, who served eight terms in the Virginia House of Representatives. But Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, insists that all the changes are part of a new readjustment after losing control of the Washington government.
Ocasio-Cortez: There was a period of mourning and grieving over this outcome. I think we need to take the time to really evaluate in a data-driven way what’s working and what’s not.
Grisales: There’s a similar movement with the new Democratic leadership of the House Natural Resources and Agriculture committees. Outside the Capitol, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips said the potential realignment shows the party has new questions about its aging leadership. Phillips, who ran unsuccessfully in the primary against President Biden because of these concerns, said he hopes Democrats are ready to field a new candidate to replace him.
DEAN PHILLIPS: I think this is an important moment for members of our caucus to really move the conversation forward about prioritizing talent over tenure and getting out of the shadow of this meaningless tradition.
Mr. Grisales: Mr. Phillips believes that such a mindset of clinging to an aging leader has strained the party, resulting in an exodus of Democratic members from Congress in recent years and spurring the party’s losses in recent elections. It is claimed that it is being applied.
Phillips: You can’t influence change. You cannot influence the policy. If you lose, you won’t be able to protect the people you want to protect.
Grisales: Back inside the Capitol, Raskin no longer cares about losing. He is considering returning to the Democratic Party.
Raskin: We want to move forward as a lean, agile, aggressive fighting force.
Grisales: House Democrats will decide in the coming days whether the committee overhaul is enough to reshape the future of the party they hope to take back power.
Claudia Grisales, NPR News, Capitol Hill.
Copyright © 2024 NPR. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. For more information, please visit our website’s Terms of Use and Permissions page at www.npr.org.
NPR transcripts are produced by NPR contractors on short notice deadlines. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The reliable recording of NPR’s programming is the audio recording.
