WASHINGTON — Democrats on Tuesday elected Rep. Robert Garcia of California as their leader on the House Oversight Committee, installing a young, fresh face in one of the party’s key roles to take on President Donald Trump.
It marks a rapid ascent for Garcia, 47, who is only in his second term Congress. Some lawmakers have served decades on Capitol Hill and have never become a committee chairman or ranking member.
Garcia would be in line to chair the powerful Oversight Committee if Democrats win control of the House in next year’s midterm elections.
There initially had been four candidates vying to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., on the Oversight Committee. But two of them — Reps. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland and Jasmine Crockett of Texas — dropped out of the race after poor showings in a vote Monday night in the Democratic steering committee, a little-known but influential panel closely aligned with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. and his leadership team.
The steering panel overwhelmingly recommended Garcia for the job.
That left just two candidates in the final vote Tuesday before the full Democratic caucus: Garcia and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., 70, one of the most senior members of the Oversight Committee who had been serving as acting ranking member after Connolly took a leave of absence in April.
The result of the closed-door, secret-ballot vote was 150 votes for Garcia and 63 votes for Lynch, according to two sources in the room.
Even before the steering committee vote, there were signs that Garcia was building momentum. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a large voting bloc, formally endorsed Garcia and aided his whip operation. And he also had broad support from members in the Progressive Caucus; Equality Caucus, composed of LGBTQ+ members; and the 43-member California delegation, the largest in the party.
“Robert is cool and calm under the storm, and I think we need that very steady, calm person to lead the Oversight Committee. There is too much at stake,” said Rep. Norma Torres, a fellow southern Californian and Hispanic Caucus member who helped whip votes for Garcia.
The crowded Oversight Committee race came amid a broader generational debate within the party, with Democrats expressing concern that older leaders are not meeting the moment in the fight against Trump.
The opening on the committee occurred after Connolly died of esophageal cancer at age 75 last month, just five months after he beat back an insurgent challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, of New York, for the ranking member position.
Before coming to Washington, Garcia had made history as the first Latino and first openly gay mayor of Long Beach, California.
Garcia, who emigrated with his mother from Peru at a young age, became a U.S. citizen in his early 20s. In southern California, he founded a local news site, the Long Beach Post, before he was elected to the city council there in 2009. Garcia served as Long Beach mayor from 2014 until 2022, when he won election to succeed Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., who did not seek reelection.
“Robert Garcia is a coalition builder. He’s shown steady and strong leadership that brings people together,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
“He has a young, fresh energy that I think the Oversight Committee needs,” she added.
Kyle Stewart contributed.