Democrats selected Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., to be the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee under Chair James Comer, R-Ky., in a 150-63 vote Tuesday, according to Kilmeny Duchardt, Newsmax's congressional correspondent.
"I am incredibly honored to have been obviously elected ranking member for the Oversight committee," Garcia told Duchardt. "It is, I think, an opportunity for us to continue holding the corruption of Donald Trump accountable and also doing incredible work on government reform."
The full Democrat caucus was in attendance for the closed-door vote to replace Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who died of cancer last month, The Hill reported.
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., 70, the sitting ranking member in the interim, lost the vote by a wide margin to Garcia, which makes Lynch the leading Democrat to obstruct Comer's efforts to investigate the alleged "cover-up" of former President Joe Biden's cognitive decline and potential White House staff abuse of the autopen outside of Biden's knowledge.
If, as often happens in midterm elections, Democrats are able to regain control of the House, Garcia would shift from obstructionist leader to chief investigator of President Donald Trump and his administration inheriting the sweeping subpoena powers currently held by Comer.
Garcia picks up the baton from Democrats who already twice impeached Trump in the past administration, including after he left office, and vows to be another thorn in Trump's side on behalf of Democrats, including Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has already filed an article of impeachment alleging Trump's abuse of power in striking Iran's nuclear sites.
"We're going to uplift their work and do everything we can to hold this administration accountable and focus on the corruption of Donald Trump and also work to make our agencies better," Garcia told Duchardt. "I think efficiency is not DOGE. Efficiency is actually making government work better for constituents across the country, and that's what we're going to focus on."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., had been wiped out in a race for that power position against Connolly, a defeat so large that she decided against running for the position again, according to The Hill.
Garcia's victory was buoyed by 43 California Democrats in the House who backed him. California is by far the largest delegation in the House and it is the bluest of blue states. There are nine House Republicans from California.
"I'm just very grateful to the caucus, and we are, as a committee and myself, we are 100% committed to winning the majority and making Hakeem Jeffries speaker," Garcia told Duchardt.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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