When Rep. Robert Garcia walked into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office in June to ask if she would once again run for the top Democratic job on the House Oversight Committee, he expected to convince her to try.
“I thought, this is someone that represents the next generation of Democrats,” Garcia said of Ocasio-Cortez during a recent interview with NOTUS. “She has a strong voice. She is aggressive in a way that I think is important for us to be.”
In Garcia’s eyes, Ocasio-Cortez had long been the right Democrat for the job, both when she ran against Rep. Gerry Connolly in December 2024 and when he died in May, creating a vacancy for the top spot. Garcia thought Ocasio-Cortez would be a force multiplier for Democratic messaging at a time when the party faithful are pleading for forceful opposition to President Donald Trump.