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Committees and Caucuses

In addition to their other responsibilities, Members of Congress are appointed by the Majority and Minority Leaders to serve on House committees. Committees are small groups of Members, both Democrats and Republicans, who hold committee hearings and debate legislation specific to the focus-area of that committee .

A committee is usually the first stop for a bill. So, for example, if a bill is focused on Wall Street regulation, it will usually first be debated by the Committee on Financial Services – because Wall Street regulation falls within that committee’s ‘jurisdiction.’ If a majority of Members of that Committee vote to support the bill, then it will go to the House floor where all Representatives vote on it.

Although Members can request which committee they serve on, they are not guaranteed a spot. House Leadership will sometimes appoint a Member to a committee because it aligns with their professional expertise or their district’s interest - for example, several Members of the House Armed Services Committee are veterans or represent districts with large military bases. Since committees can dictate which legislation makes it to the floor for a larger vote, there is sometimes intense competition for committee spots, and then seniority or more political considerations dictate who House Leadership chooses for those spots.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez serves on The Committee of Oversight and Reform , which is the main investigative committee in the House. In January 2023, she was selected as the Vice Ranking Member — the #2 spot for Democrats on the committee. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has used these committee hearings to pressure big pharma into bringing down the price of prescription drugs. Under the Trump administration, she also led President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to state on the record that President Trump was engaging in tax fraud and to name other potential witnesses. And more famously, it was through an Oversight and Reform Hearing, that Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez pressured Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s failure to fact-check political advertising.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez also serves as a first-time member on The Committee on Natural Resources and as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources . This committee considers legislation about American energy production, mineral lands and mining, fisheries and wildlife, public lands, oceans, irrigation and more. Already, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has used her time on the Natural Resources Committee to propose an amendment requiring the collecting of public health data in response to new drilling on federal lands .

Unlike Committees, Members can usually join a Caucus without being appointed and there’s no limit on the number of members. Caucuses generally serve to build voting coalitions . For example, in 2019, the Congressional Progressive Caucus had enough of their Members willing to withhold their votes from a bill that gave big giveaways to major pharmaceutical companies– that House leadership was forced to alter the bill to protect employer-sponsored health plans from drug spikes, among other changes.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus , the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus , the Congressional Progressive Caucus , the LGBT Equality Caucus , Congressional Bangladesh Caucus and the Quiet Skies Caucus - a caucus in support of reducing aircraft noise pollution. The Congresswoman represents the community surrounding LaGaurdia Airport.

More on Committees and Caucuses

Senior Reporter & Arya Hodjat at The Daily Beast

Cory Stieg at CNBC

Berkeley Lovelace Jr. at CNBC

Poppy Noor at The Guardian

Kari Paul at The Guardian

John Haltiwanger at Business Insider

Jay Willi s at GQ

Caroline Fredrickson at the New York Times

Member Profile

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

New York (NY) – 14th, Democrat

Hometown: East Elmhurst

Oath of Office: Jan. 07, 2023

Overview & Contact

Recent votes.

POLITICO Politico Logo

AOC in line to become her party's No. 2 on Oversight panel

She’s expected to play a larger role — as high as vice ranking member — given her close relationship with top committee Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) arrives for a press conference.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s potential ascension comes as the Oversight Committee’s work is preparing to kick into high gear after Republicans have spent months conducting behind-the-scenes planning. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By Nicholas Wu , Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris

01/27/2023 03:08 PM EST

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to step into a larger role on the House Oversight Committee this Congress, perhaps even its No. 2 Democratic spot.

An elevation to the vice ranking member position, while it’s not yet final, would give the well-known third-term progressive Democrat a high-profile perch to tangle with Republicans on a laundry list of controversial investigations they’re planning — on topics ranging from Hunter Biden’s business dealings to the southern border to GOP efforts to probe the “origins” of the coronavirus.

“There’s been conversations, but nothing’s been finalized,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a brief interview Friday when asked about her interest in the party’s No. 2 position on the panel, which is sparking open discussion among her fellow Democratic lawmakers.

Should Ocasio-Cortez become vice ranking member, she’s also likely to take on more responsibility in helming Democrats’ messaging and strategy on a panel that’s stocked with some of the House GOP’s most rhetorically rowdy conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). That’s in part due to the cancer treatment that Oversight’s current ranking member, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is currently undergoing.

“I have the greatest admiration for her skill, and I’m sure we’re going to be able to deploy her to maximum effect on the committee, along with all these other amazing new members,” Raskin said in an interview about her position on the committee, declining to directly address whether Ocasio-Cortez would become his No. 2.

A Democratic aide noted that Ocasio-Cortez would be able to sit in for Raskin on the committee if he’s absent during hearings, a role typically played by the No. 2 member on any panel but one that other panel members are also able to assume.

Ocasio-Cortez and Raskin worked closely together during the last Congress, particularly on the Oversight subpanel he then chaired overseeing civil rights issues. The younger New Yorker had served as the subpanel’s vice chair, and the duo’s close relationship had fueled speculation among some Democrats that Ocasio-Cortez would follow Raskin as he rose on the committee.

Committee Democrats are expected to meet on Monday to organize for the next two years, two party aides told POLITICO. Democrats will likely use the meeting to finalize internal leadership positions like the one Ocasio-Cortez is under consideration for. The “vice ranking member” position was created by Democrats back in 2017, when they were last in the minority after failing to flip the House in 2016, in order to elevate more junior members.

Ocasio-Cortez’s potential ascension comes as the Oversight Committee’s work is preparing to kick into high gear after Republicans have spent months conducting behind-the-scenes planning.

The full committee will hold an organizational meeting on Tuesday and its first full committee hearing on Wednesday, focused on coronavirus relief funding.

Oversight panel chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) is also setting the stage for two high-profile hearings early next month: He’s invited Border Patrol officials to testify during the week of Feb. 6 and will hold a hearing on Feb. 8 related to Twitter’s handling of a 2020 New York Post story on Hunter Biden. Comer has invited three former Twitter officials to appear at the latter hearing, with a GOP committee aide saying those witnesses are expected to testify.

“I think I’m going to have a lot of fun on this committee,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters generally earlier Friday after her formal naming to the panel. “Of course, [Republicans are] going to be calling hearings on horrible things, but our job is to protect the people and protect the vulnerable communities that they seek to attack … it gives us an opportunity and a platform to de-legitimize a lot of the disinformation that they’ve been advancing.”

Committee Assignments of the 118th Congress

Below are all current senators and the committees on which they serve.

***The organizational meetings for some of the Joint Committees of the 117th Congress have not yet occurred.****

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has risen to her most high-profile role yet as vice ranking member of the House Oversight Committee in the 118th Congress, per Politico .

The New York Democrat will serve alongside ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, both of whom will have a direct hand on the laundry list of investigations that Congress’ Freedom Caucus hopes to pursue.

“Thank you to my colleagues on [House Oversight Committee] for entrusting me with this responsibility. I’m thrilled to get to work with our incredible Oversight team!” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.

Last Friday, Jan. 29, Politico posed the question directly to Ocasio-Cortez —- whose voice often reverberates on the national stage — but said that conversations were ongoing and nothing had been finalized.

Democrats created the vice-ranking member as a position that came to fruition in 2017, the last time they were in the minority, in an effort to elevate junior members in Congress.

This week, according to Politico, committee assignments were finalized, and Ocasio-Cortez went from presumed to confirmed and will be able to support the Democratic agenda within the GOP-dominated committee should Raskin be unable to be present.

The House Oversight Committee comprises some of President Joe Biden’s most ardent opposers — including Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus.

In anticipation of committee assignments amid one of the most chaotic House Speaker votes in recent history, the Freedom Caucus pledged to look into several facets of the administration.

Among some of their priorities are the coronavirus pandemic, its origins, federal directives, and the 2021 withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. But the committee is also targeting the president directly by investigating his son, Hunter Biden, and his business endeavors.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez blasts Republicans for vote to oust Ilhan Omar from committee

AOC accuses Republicans of 'targeting and racism' for vote to remove Rep. Omar from committee

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted House Republicans on Thursday for a passing resolution to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota , a fellow progressive lawmaker, from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

"This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America," Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said.

Omar , a Muslim American who has been a critic of Israel and the Jewish lobby, was removed by Republicans on Thursday for what lawmakers from both parties said were antisemitic remarks.

“Consistency? There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party’s continued attacks, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Before Ocasio-Cortez addressed the House floor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Republican, said that the resolution to remove Omar was about “consistency.”

“I am being consistent here, and I hope my colleagues will do the same to show that this is about consistency and accountability,” Malliotakis said. “We should not have an individual with those views on the committee that is tasked with representing our country and our Congress to foreign nations.”

Ocasio-Cortez fired back that Republicans have repeatedly elevated members of their caucus to prized committee assignments, including a GOP lawmaker who she said had threatened her life.

In 2021, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., shared an animation on Twitter that depicted him killing the congresswoman, resulting in his being stripped of his committee assignments. Last month, Gosar was elevated to the Oversight and Accountability and Natural Resources committees, a move that Ocasio-Cortez said "rewarded him."

Ocasio-Cortez also challenged Republicans on inconsistencies related to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who came under scrutiny during her first term in Congress for antisemitic remarks.

In remarks that predated her election, Greene had claimed that the 2018 California wildfires were started by “Jewish space lasers," and she has also suggested that school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, were staged . While she was removed from committees during her freshman term, Greene has since won "some of the highest committee assignments in this body," Ocasio-Cortez noted, assuming roles on the Oversight and Homeland Security committees.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., also criticized what he called the “sheer hypocrisy” of the resolution to remove Omar, while insisting that her perspective as a refugee and the only African-born Muslim member of the Foreign Affairs panel were “invaluable.”

The fact that Omar had apologized for the remarks, but was still facing removal, revealed a “double standard,” Meeks said, when compared against antisemitic remarks made by Republican members.

“Could it be the way that she looks, could it be her religious practices?" Meeks asked. "Because it’s clear if she were on the other side of the aisle, we would not be having this debate today.”

Two Jewish House Democrats also rallied in Omar's defense.

“I don’t need any of you to defend me against antisemitism,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who is also Jewish and a member of the Foreign Affairs panel, said that “atonement should be rewarded, not punished.”

“This is the very weaponization of antisemitism that I as a Jewish person find repulsive, I find dangerous, and above else, shameful — yes, shameful.” Phillips said.

Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.

Watch CBS News

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Dems denounce Republican vote to remove Ilhan Omar from House Foreign Affairs Committee

By C Mandler

February 2, 2023 / 7:12 PM / CBS News

After Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was ousted from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs committee Thursday in a party-line vote, she received support from fellow " Squad " member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor. Omar's removal was in response to previous controversial remarks that invoked antisemitism.

"There is nothing consistent about the Republican party's continued attack except for racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body," said Ocasio-Cortez Thursday, alleging that Omar was removed from the committee because she is Black and Muslim, and not because of the comments she made.

The resolution to remove Omar referenced past tweets of the congresswoman's which were critical of Israel and AIPAC — a pro-Israel lobbying group — and were widely denounced as being antisemitic. She has since apologized.

The vote was down party lines, with 218 Republicans voting in favor and 211 Democrats voting against. One Republican, Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, voted present.

"I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life and you all, and the Republican Caucus, rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments in this Congress," Ocasio-Cortez said.

That member in question was Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, who was stripped of his committee assignments in 2021 following a tweet that depicted animated violence against Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden. Gosar was reinstated this year to positions on the Natural Resources Committee and the Oversight Committee.

"Don't tell me this is about a condemnation of antisemitic remarks when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers and... elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments of this body," Ocasio-Cortez went on, referencing a conspiracy theory by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Greene was appointed to the Oversight and Homeland Security committees last month after being removed from committee assignments by the previous Democratic-controlled House for extremist and racist comments.

Omar took to Twitter to comment on the vote, writing, "My critique of our foreign policy, Israeli's policy towards Palestinians or that of any foreign nation will not change."

"As a person who suffered the horrors of war and persecution, my advocacy will always be for those that suffer because of the actions of governments," she added.

👋🏽 My critique of our foreign policy, Israeli’s policy towards Palestinians or that of any foreign nation will not change. As a person who suffered the horrors of war and persecution, my advocacy will always be for those that suffer because of the actions of governments. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 2, 2023

Omar also retweeted John Yarmouth, a former congressman from Kentucky, who wrote in support of her.

"I served with Ilhan Omar and spoke to her about her attitude about Jews and Israel," Yarmouth said. "As a Jew, I'm convinced she is not anti-Semitic."

Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, a ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also issued a statement defending Omar and criticizing Republicans, saying the vote was not reflective of Omar herself, but of "the hypocrisy of Republican leadership, which has used its power to exact revenge on their political opponents and, in the case of Omar, punish a member to satisfy the extreme MAGA wing of their party."

C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.

AOC to GOP: Don't tell me you're condemning antisemitism when a Republican 'who has talked about Jewish space lasers' gets a plum committee assignment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unloaded on Republicans for hypocrisy Thursday while defending her fellow "squad" member, Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Republicans voted to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her controversial comments in the past about Israel. Ocasio-Cortez, in a fiery floor speech, said Republicans have been rewarded for doing worse.

"Don't tell me that this is about a condemnation of antisemitic remarks, when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers, and also elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments in this body," she said, a reference to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene . "This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America."

Greene in 2018 published false and antisemitic conspiracy theories alleging the "Camp Fire" wildfire in California was orchestrated by politicians and wealthy Jewish bankers.

After being stripped of committee assignments last Congress for her rhetoric, she now sits on prestigious committees on oversight and homeland security.

Ocasio-Cortez further called out Republicans for rewarding Rep. Paul Gosar, without mentioning by name, "with one of the most prestigious committee assignments in this Congress" after she said he threatened her life.

The House voted in 2021 to censure Gosar and remove him from his committee assignments when he tweeted an edited anime video that showed him killing Ocasio-Cortes. His committee assignments this Congress include oversight and natural resources.

"I didn't get a single apology when my life was threatened. Thank you," she said, ending her speech by slamming her book on the lectern.

—Acyn (@Acyn) February 2, 2023

The House voted along party lines to remove Omar from the foreign affairs committee, except for Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, who voted "present."

Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, said a "disgusting legacy" of the September 11 terrorism attacks has been the targeting of and racism against Muslim Americans. She characterized the vote against Omar, who is Muslim, as "an extension of that legacy."

"There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party's continued attack except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body," she said.

IMAGES

House censures GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, strips committee assignments over anime video of attack on
house dems betray AOC on committee assignments : AlexandriaOcasio
New Democrat Standards Put AOC Committee Assignments at Risk
Rep. Paul Gosar censured by House, stripped of committee assignments
AOC appointed to Oversight Committee + list of all Dem committee assignments, so far
Ayanna Pressley and AOC introduce a resolution to strip Lauren Boebert of her committee

COMMENTS

Committees and Caucuses
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez serves on The Committee of Oversight and Reform, which is the main investigative committee in the House.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
CONTACT: 250 Cannon House Office Building, Washington DC 20515-3214, COMMITTEE: Committee on Natural Resources,Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
Member Activity by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Representative from New York - in ... View Member Committee Assignments and Recent Votes (House.gov)
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Representative from New York - in ... View Member Committee Assignments and Recent Votes (House.gov)
AOC in line to become her party's No. 2 on Oversight panel
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to step into a larger role on the House Oversight Committee this Congress, perhaps even its No.
Committee Assignments of the 118th Congress
Committee Assignments of the 118th Congress · Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure · Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and
Ocasio-Cortez to serve as second-highest ranking Democrat on
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has risen to her most high-profile role yet as vice ranking member of the House Oversight Committee in the
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez blasts Republicans for vote to oust Ilhan Omar
While she was removed from committees during her freshman term, Greene has since won "some of the highest committee assignments in this body,"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Dems denounce Republican
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was voted out of her committee assignment over previous remarks that were deemed antisemitic.
AOC to GOP: Don't tell me you're condemning antisemitism when a
Ilhan Omar from her committee. She said Republicans have been rewarded with plum committee assignments after doing worse. Advertisement.
Rep AOC Discusses Speaker McCarthy's Committee ...
Rep Alexandria Ocasio Cortez(D-NY) appeared on #CNN's AC360 show (02/02/23) to discuss House #SpeakerMcCarthy's committee assignments and