Gerry Connolly to step down as top Democrat on House oversight panel

Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ key oversight committee, has announced he will not run for re-election and resign his committee post, citing a return of the cancer for which he previously been successfully treated.

The Virginia Democrat was elected as the party’s ranking member on the high-profile committee last December, after its former chair, the Maryland representative Jaime Raskin, moved on to the judiciary committee.

He beat off a challenge from the progressive New York member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for a position that would be in the vanguard of scrutinizing the incoming Trump administration, aided by Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, who was understood to have lobbied members to vote for Connolly, who at 75, was more senior.

On Monday, Connolly – who had been undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer – announced that the condition had returned after going into remission.

“When I announced my candidacy six months ago, I promised transparency,” he wrote in an open letter to his northern Virginia constituents that was posted on social media. “After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, which was initially beaten back, has now returned.

“The sun is setting on my time in public service and this will be my last term in Congress. I will be stepping back as the ranking member of the oversight committee soon.”

Some Democrats were critical of Connolly’s election as the party’s leading figure on the committee, which came at a time when other senior committee members were effectively pressured to step aside in favor of younger representatives amid calls for a generational shift.

It was unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez, who is no longer a member of the oversight committee after having joined the energy and commerce committee, had plans to mount another bid to become its ranking member. Politico speculated that two other younger Democrats, Ro Khanna of California and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, might throw their hats in the ring.

Mark Warner, a Democrat senator for Virginia, paid tribute to Connolly.

“Throughout his career, Gerry Connolly has exemplified the very best of public service – fiercely intelligent, deeply principled, and relentlessly committed to the people of Northern Virginia and our nation,” he said. “Whether it’s standing up for federal workers, advocating for good governance, or now confronting cancer with the same resilience and grit that have defined his life of public service, Gerry is one of the toughest fighters I know. I have no doubt that Gerry will continue to fight – for his health, for his community, and for the causes he believes in.”