Exclusive / Inside a low-key House Democratic leadership fight
House Democrats are fighting over the pecking order in their extended leadership hierarchy as they hope to win the majority.
In recent days, allies of both Reps. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., have laid claim to the fourth-ranking slot in the majority as they look to potentially convert their current titles (assistant Democratic leader and caucus vice chair, respectively), into the equivalent roles in the majority (assistant speaker and caucus chair).
Top Democrats are publicly staying above the fray. “We have a great team,” said Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., “Everybody has a role to play, and everybody’s valued.”
A person close to leadership noted that Minority Whip Katherine Clark was considered the fourth-ranking Democrat when she was the assistant speaker under Nancy Pelosi.
A senior political adviser to House Democratic leadership said the “tradition continues as it has been.”
Democrats’ internal rules lay out an election order, though the House’s website lists Lieu above Neguse.
“I’m laser-focused on flipping the House. American families are struggling with high costs, and democracy is literally on the line,” Lieu said in a statement.
It’s not the first time there’s been ambiguity in the hierarchy. The last occupant of Neguse’s job, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., created some murkiness when he stepped down from his top leadership position and into the assistant leader job by taking himself out of the line of leadership succession.
There’s not much practical implication of the leadership hierarchy besides dictating the speaking order at press conferences, but it can give lawmakers bragging rights or set them up for future jobs.
Members of the current top trio — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar — all previously served in the rung of leadership below Pelosi’s top tier, though the order of those roles didn’t make a difference for the jobs they hold now.
Additional Democrats are still maneuvering for other jobs in the leadership chain. Lawmakers in the mix for the DCCC chair include Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., and Steven Horsford, D-Nev. Two are squaring off for vice chair: Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Lauren Underwood, D-Ill.
At least three Democrats are vying to join two open spots on the party messaging arm: Reps. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., Sarah McBride, D-Del., and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif.
The top Education and Workforce Committee Democrat, Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, is also facing challenges, with Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., actively running and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., weighing a bid.
