BURSTThe House Democratic Caucus unanimously voted to make Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) the new top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee Tuesday, a day after he cleared a key committee vote.
Huffman will succeed Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who has led the panel’s Democrats since 2015 but announced he would relinquish the post for his final term earlier in the month after initially vowing a bid for another two years at the top. Grijalva endorsed Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the ranking member on the panel’s oversight subcommittee.
Stansbury exited the race for the top spot amid overwhelming support for Huffman, who first announced his leadership bid in late November before Grijalva announced he would step back. Huffman on Monday won a vote of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which serves as a recommendation to the wider caucus and is typically predictive of the caucus-wide result.
“I am incredibly grateful to the many partners who have supported me in my journey – tribes from around the country, environmental allies, and the overwhelming majority of my colleagues I’ve served with here in the House,” Huffman said in a statement.
“I will work day-in and day-out to honor the trust they have put in me to lead this committee. We have weathered many storms together and I believe we are better prepared than ever to tackle what lies ahead next Congress," the California Democrat added. "This is a team sport, and I am excited and ready to lead this team.”
Huffman’s ascendance on the committee comes as part of a broader shakeup of Democratic leadership on House committees after the party’s 2024 electoral losses, amid concerns about whether new leaders are needed to reverse the party’s national fortunes.
In addition to Grijalva stepping down, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) ceded the top post on the House Judiciary Committee to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), while Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott (D-Ga.) lost yesterday’s Steering committee vote to Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — teeing him up to be the first to outright lose to a challenger. Craig also won the full caucus vote for the ranking member position Tuesday.
Despite these wins by younger, less senior committee members, Monday’s steering vote also saw Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who is 74 years old and recently announced a cancer diagnosis, prevail against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for the top spot on the Oversight Committee, which Raskin vacated for the Judiciary post.