Rep. Raskin Will Be the Top Democrat on the Oversight Committee

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will be the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform next Congress, which serves as the main investigative body in the House and oversees civil service issues. 

After Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the current chair, lost her primary race, Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Stephen Lynch, D-Mass, chairs of the commitee’s government operations and national security panels, respectively, as well as Raskin, announced they were vying for the top Democratic position. 

“I join my Democratic colleagues in congratulating Rep. Jamie Raskin who has been elected to serve as the Ranking Member for the Committee on Oversight and Reform next Congress,” Maloney said in a statement. “As a proven leader of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, I am confident that Rep. Raskin is the leader the American people need to defend our democracy and champion an effective government at this critical moment in our nation’s history.”

She added: “I look forward to Ranking Member Raskin furthering the committee’s mission of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring a government that is accountable to all Americans.”

Raskin beat Connolly 133-75, according to news reports. 

Raskin will now serve as a counterweight to incoming chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who has big plans to conduct oversight of the Biden administration. Raskin has been in Congress since 2017 and since then has garnered a national profile due to his role as manager for President Trump’s second impeachment and member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.