Two additional Democrats, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), on Thursday launched their bids for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Mfume, in a letter announcing his candidacy, stated he was “prepared to meet that moment; as my lifelong friend, successor, and predecessor Elijah Cummings did when he was Oversight Chair under the first twisted Trump administration.”
“The dismantling of our democracy at the hands of the Trump administration and his congressional enablers demands Committee leadership that meets this moment with vigor, experience, principle, and resolve,” Mfume wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
In a letter by Lynch obtained by Punchbowl News, he highlighted his work with the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who stepped back from his daily responsibilities as ranking member earlier this year due to his battle with cancer. Connolly died earlier this month.
“As we all know, Gerry Connolly was all about the work, and I am honored to have earned his trust and endorsement to continue this important work and lead Oversight Democrats at a moment when our decisions and our actions over the coming months may determine the course of our American experiment,” Lynch said in his letter.
He also mentioned his more than two decades of experience on the Oversight Committee, which would make him “well-prepared to manage an extremely talented group of Oversight Democrats as we fight like hell against every action taken by the Trump Administration to curtail individual rights, dismantle our democratic institutions and unload the costs of reckless economic plans onto the backs of America’s workers and vulnerable communities.”
Earlier on Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was the first Democrat to officially announce his candidacy.
“From the Trump administration’s attacks on the rule of law, weaponizing the government against its critics, and decimating the services our constituents rely upon–there is a clear and immediate threat to our democracy,” Garcia wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “As citizens, patriots, and members of Congress, we must organize, fight back, and defend the principles of freedom, equality, and justice. I’m ready to help lead that fight.”
Both Mfume, 77, and Lynch, 70, had voiced interest in the role before announcing their bids. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), 44, has also expressed interest.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who lost her bid for the position to Connolly late last year, passed on running earlier this month.
The House Democratic Caucus is slated to hold the election for the ranking member position on June 24.
