Reporting on a contentious Republican meeting where former Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blew off his colleagues' concerns about Medicaid cuts in the looming budget bill to be voted upon, Punchbowl's Andrew Desiderio shared a dramatic handout the senators were given.
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," the reporter noted that lawmakers were "shocked" when the outgoing McConnell told them to pass the bill and added, "I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid. But they’ll get over it.”
Speaking with the hosts, Desiderio claimed the biggest pushback came from Sen. Thom Tillis who faces an uphill re-election in 2026, noting the North Carolina Republican came armed with a memo showing the impact on various states if the bill is passed as is.
"Senator Tillis, for example, has raised significant concerns about these Medicaid cuts in the bill, and not just with the policy itself, but how it will affect Republicans politically," he reported. "I mean, Senator Tillis was very straightforward in his presentation during the lunch yesterday in which he said, this will be our version of Obamacare and what he was referring to was the fact that Republicans like himself, swept into power in 2014 partially because of that rocky rollout of Obamacare."
Holding up a piece of paper, he continued, "I actually have the document here that a Republican senator slipped to me of those Medicaid cuts."
"This is what Senator Tillis was outlining to his colleagues," he elaborated. "You know, states like West Virginia, $6.2 billion, Missouri $6.1 billion. But then you look at North Carolina and we're looking at almost $40 billion forfeited over the next decade and it's striking to see a comment like this on the flier."
Once one of Donald Trump's most loyal elected officials, Marjorie Taylor Greene is proudly declaring, "Trump is not a king."
Greene on Wednesday took to X to make the proclamation, after which she clarified, "He is our elected President, and I support him, even when I occasionally disagree with him."
"I’m an American and having my own opinion and the freedom to speak it is the most American way. MAGA is not a cult, it’s a populist political movement, filled with a wide range of diversity of Americans that desperately wants the government to prioritize the American people, our country, and our problems," she wrote. "If MAGA can’t hold it together on an occasional disagreement then MAGA will lose its power."
She goes on to warn that "the establishment has wrapped themselves in MAGA like a costume."
"In 2016, we elected Trump because we were disgusted with the establishment, and MAGA has been at war with the establishment ever since. But don’t be fooled into believing we have beaten them. Currently the establishment has wrapped themselves in MAGA like a costume, speaking our language and infiltrating our movement, and is waiting to take back control," she added. "But they can’t yet because we still have our champion, Trump, to rally around and beat the establishment back."
She then issued a warning about the post-Trump MAGA world.
"But in just a few years that will no longer be the case. That is a harsh reality coming and those are going to be very difficult shoes to fill, which will lead to disappointment for many," the lawmaker wrote Wednesday.
Greene then delved a bit into her disagreements with the president.
"I have always taken a hard stance against America going into foreign wars and regime change and forcing the American military to do it and the American people to pay for it. To me it’s the most hypocritical thing in the world for America to do while we are $37 trillion in debt, with mountains of problems facing our own people that we never solve, and while Americans on our homeland are not being killed, by the current foreign bad guy, whomever they tell us that is on tv, war after war after war. And I’ve discovered this hard stance is something that has united Republicans and Democrats from all over the country. My office is being flooded with phone calls from not only Republicans but also many Democrats thanking me for taking a stand against U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran," she wrote. "Also I am refusing to vote for the AI moratorium, which would take away states rights to regulate and make laws on AI for 10 years. This has also been a very unifying issue among the people, Republicans and Democrats, and calls are coming in from both sides supporting my stance. My point is, both parties are failing the American people in many ways. And it’s because both political parties always put special interests, foreign countries/wars, and their own grip on power above the American people and the future of our country. Moving forward there must be a better way to serve Americans and save our children’s future. We should not be divided on that."
Former Donald Trump personal attorney Alina Habba has been slapped with a formal ethics complaint over her conduct in her latest incarnation as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
According to a report from Politico, as Habba's case against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) over allegations she assaulted ICE agents outside an immigrant detention facility in May, heads to federal court, Habba now finds herself under new scrutiny.
Politico's Ry Rivard is reporting liberal watchdog group Campaign for Accountability made a complaint this week with the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, alleging "improprieties" since the attorney accepted the interim appointment.
According to the complaint, Habba has "acted improperly since becoming a prosecutor." It "cites her actions in the McIver case, along with comments about turning 'New Jersey red' and announcing investigations into its Democratic governor and attorney general over immigration."
“In an atmosphere where other oversight bodies are caving to political influence, the bar’s duty to independently enforce these rules is ever more important,” explained executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith.
Habba is already facing a lawsuit filed against her by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka over his arrest –– with charges since dropped –– on the same day that McIver was arrested, with the suit stating Habba "directed and ratified" his "unlawful arrest”
The report notes that Campaign for Accountability filed a similar complaint in New York against another Trump personal attorney, Emil Bove, after he forced prosecutors to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Bove, from his perch in the DOJ, is now facing hearings after the president nominated him to a lifetime judicial appointment.
Donald Trump's White House is engaged in a massive coverup, according to a former Tea Party Republican lawmaker.
Former Congressman Joe Walsh, previously a Republican before becoming an independent for years and, most recently, joining the Democratic party, weighed in via a Substack post dated Wednesday, June 25.
Comparing Trump to a "grandpa" who "really shouldn't be driving anymore," Walsh calls for someone to "write a book about Trump’s cognitive decline and how the people around him know about it but are covering it up."
"Could someone please write that book right now, instead of waiting four years?" he asked. "Need sources? Just take a look at his Truth Social feed. It’s all over the place. One minute he’s talking about regime change and 'MIGA,' next he’s congratulating everyone on a ceasefire no one else knew anything about, now he’s tweeting out a 'Bomb Iran' video."
Walsh added, "And let’s not forget that he’s taken to 'signing' his social media posts. Paging Jake Tapper."
Walsh's mention of Tapper was a reference to the CNN host's recent book about the Biden administration and the then-president's mental faculties in the White House.
WASHINGTON — Pro-Israel Democrats fear the Trump administration is squandering what little goodwill remains with moderate Democrats on Capitol Hill by postponing congressional briefings on this weekend’s military strikes in Iran.
“I don't think it's a smart move. Members want to get a sense of what the administration’s thinking,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Raw Story. “If this was successful, it's probably good for the president, so there's no reason not to do it.”
While progressive Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have decried the military strikes as “clearly grounds for impeachment," many in the moderate wing of the party are looking for a way to back Israel in the conflict, which they say only got more complicated since the administration delayed briefing Congress on the strikes.
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told Raw Story. “Maybe they're hiding.”
Even if the Trump administration wasn’t hiding, many Democrats feel they are.
Confusion on Capitol Hill
With President Donald Trump’s "One Big, Beautiful Bill’ on thin ice in the Senate, lawmakers across Capitol Hill blocked out large chunks of time to hear directly about the strikes in Iran from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine in classified briefings Tuesday.
But by early afternoon, whispers fanned across Capitol Hill that the briefings were postponed.
“I just heard that,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Raw Story. “Did they say why?”
Even powerful Republican senators were left asking the same question on their way to their weekly conference lunch.
“Some of your Democratic colleagues are complaining about the delay in these briefings,” Raw Story asked, “what do you make of that?”
“I may be able to find out a little more in a few minutes,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) told Raw Story while walking through the Capitol Tuesday afternoon. “I'm going to check on why.”
As news of the postponed briefings spread, so did anger amongst many Democrats.
“It's outrageous, and I think it's astonishing,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) told Raw Story. “I believe it's unlawful, and I believe it's unconstitutional.”
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Houlahan says her concerns go beyond the Trump administration.
“I think it's worrisome,” Houlahan said. “And I think it's even probably more worrisome that it would appear that the speaker of the House doesn't care, and so I'm pretty stunned. I'm hoping that smart people will figure out that this is not okay.”
But Houlahan and other Democrats aren’t holding their breath.
The Democratic skepticism over the postponed security briefings stems, in part, from the Trump administration bypassing protocol and only briefing congressional Republican leaders ahead of the military strikes in Iran, while only alerting Democratic leaders after the bombing campaigns.
“That's also really insane,” Houlahan said. “It's bananas.”
When it comes to matters of American intelligence secrets, nonpartisanship has always been the name of the game. Until now, at least.
In Congress, the responsibility of keeping those secrets, well, secret lies with the ‘gang of eight’ — the four party leaders from both sides of the Capitol along with the top Republicans and Democrats on the Intelligence Committees from both respective chambers of Congress.
Reports that the Trump administration alerted Republican congressional leaders ahead of time and Democratic leaders after the strikes occurred have Democrats of all stripes crying "foul."
“It's like the destruction of the system of government,” Lofgren said. “The so-called gang of eight never leaks, because that's their obligation and that's never once happened. It wouldn't have happened in this case. It's outrageous, really.”
“He's going to need Democratic support”
From the perch of more centrist Democrats, Trump made a huge miscalculation.
“If this escalates, he's going to need Democratic support on this,” Bera said. “Because you're going to have a number of Freedom Caucus, hardline… guys that are not going to fund a war. If he needs additional war funding, he's going to need our support.”
At the end of the day, even moderate Democrats are feeling pulled to the more progressive view of their party when it comes to Trump thumbing his nose at Congress.
“It's his general disdain for the legislative branch of Congress,” Bera said. “It's the petty stuff that Trump does.”
A video has gone viral of a landscaper being wrestled to the ground, pepper-sprayed, and beaten by immigration officers in Los Angeles as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan.
While Trump promised that criminals would be targeted for deportation, that has not been the case, and that has been difficult for the man's three sons, one a Marine veteran and the two still serving in the Marines.
Alejandro Barranco, the son of 48-year-old Narciso Barranco, told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace and NBC's Jacob Soboroff that he's trying to remain calm and "just give to my dad."
"I just saw him a couple of minutes ago. He's — I've never seen him like this. He's still wearing the same clothes that they got him in. He still has blood on his shirt from the beating," the younger Barranco said. "His eyes are still burning. He hasn't been able to shower. He hasn't been able to wash his face. He says he's in a cage, you can say, with at least 70 other people. No privacy. One toilet. He's received water maybe once a day and very, very little food."
Wallace asked what Barranco said to the three boys that made them want to serve their country. The younger Barranco revealed that his father taught them that they must be thankful and love America.
"He always wanted us to have the best education as well, and just be educated citizens and law-abiding. He never had any hate or any time, any type of dislike towards his country, towards this country," the Marine veteran said.
"It's very hard on us because we always try to bring — we've always tried to help this country out. We gave our lives to this country. It's just not fair. And I don't like the way they're going about this. Honestly, I'm heartbroken because, I mean, I love this country, I love my parents, I love the community. It's just — I don't know, I feel — I feel betrayed," the young man continued.
Barranco also said that he believes the border patrol agents were merely in the same place at the same time as his father and happened to see someone handling the grounds at the Santa Ana IHOP.
"I think they were just racially profiling people," Barranco said.
The Department of Homeland Security posted a video on X claiming that the gardener attacked them with a "weed whacker."
"He was shocked," Barranco said of his father. "He was like he was confused. He's like what? He's like when? And I was like, I'm not sure. I'm like, I'm not sure when they're saying that or like how I see the video, but it's natural human movement, natural human reaction. He gets pepper-sprayed like seconds before that. He said he never intended to hurt anyone. He never intended to hurt anyone. And it was just a natural movement."
Soboroff asked as a Marine what would have happened to him if he did something like that while in Afghanistan, and the veteran said punishment would have been severe.
"I promise you, it would have been a war crime, and the situation would have been completely different," Barranco said.
A GoFundMe page set up by a family friend has had nearly 5,000 donations, totaling over $180,000.
"Please help the Barranco family with whatever you can to ensure he is able to receive the proper legal counsel to represent him," the page asks.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) fact-checked Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) after he claimed President Donald Trump's approval rating was "soaring."
During a House DOGE Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Crockett blasted Republicans for "following one person" instead of listening to voters.
"The reason that people like me say things like y'all are in a cult is because somehow people are abdicating their duties and abdicating the very people that put them into office," she remarked.
"I would remind members of both sides of the aisle that President Trump's approval rating is soaring and last I checked, congressional approval is not," the Republican lawmaker said.
Crockett disputed Burchett by entering contrary documents into the official record.
"This is just from a couple of hours ago," she explained. "Trump pivots to distractions as polls show collapsing support for his agenda."
"The next one is Donald Trump's approval rating plunges in multiple polls," she continued. "The next one: Donald Trump's approval rating, new polls show shakeup over Iran bombing... the next one: Trump's approval rating drops to term low amid Israel-Iran war."
“Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me - I’m just a silly girl.” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war.”
She later added, “It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made.”
Her remarks came a few short hours after Trump raged at the Congresswoman. “Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before,” Trump said on his social media platform.
“The reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration.” He added, “The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again.”
Trump then called for her to have a cognitive exam, saying, “AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center, as part of my Physical. As the Doctor in charge said, ‘President Trump ACED it,’ meaning, I got every answer right.”
The congresswoman called for Trump’s impeachment after he bombed Iran without notifying Congress. After the bomb announcement was made, Ocasio-Cortez took to X, saying, “The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.”
She later added, “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
TV networks were caught by surprise by his fury, running unedited curse words from the president live to their morning audiences.
Israel claimed Iran violated the deal by aiming missiles at their country. An Israeli attack reportedly took out an Iranian missile launcher.
“As soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before,” Trump said. “I'm not happy with Israel. I'm not happy with Iran either, but I'm really unhappy [with Israel].”
As reporters attempted to yell out more questions, Trump said, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f--- they're doing. Do you understand that?”
He then abruptly walked away from reporters, on his way to fly to a NATO summit in the Hague.
CNN anchor John Berman said, “The President of the United States does not know if this ceasefire is still in effect. That's where we are this morning. He thinks both sides have violated it. And you heard him at the end there. Just words of really, I think, frustration with both Israel and Iran.”
Before swearing on live TV, Trump also unleashed on CNN for its reporting on the United States' air strike on Iran’s nuclear facility. “The fake news, like CNN in particular, they're trying to say, ‘well, I agree that it was destroyed, but maybe not that destroyed.’ You know what they're doing?” Trump asked rhetorically, “They're really hurting great pilots that put their lives on the line. CNN is scum and so is MSDNC.”
Before he spoke with reporters, Trump posted on Truth Social, “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES”
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social early Tuesday to launch into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell — and urge his allies in Congress to tear into the man.
“‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell, of the Fed, will be in Congress today in order to explain, among other things, why he is refusing to lower the Rate,” Trump wrote.
“Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had ZERO. No inflation, great economy - We should be at least two to three points lower. Would save the USA 800 Billion Dollars Per Year, plus. What a difference this would make.”
Trump went on to say, “If things later change to the negative, increase the Rate. I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come. THE BOARD SHOULD ACTIVATE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump has been calling for rates to be lower since he was inaugurated on January 20th. Powell has refused because of Trump’s other economic moves, including placing tariffs on nearly every country.
He is due to appear before Congress Tuesday to present the Fed's monetary policy report and provide updates on the central bank's views on the economy.
Trump has threatened to remove Powell from his position, which is illegal. Trump has Previously called Powell a "fool who doesn't have a clue" and "Mr. Too Late."
Powell was appointed to the Fed by President Trump in 2018 during his first term. President Joe Biden later reappointed him.
In the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling Monday that permitted President Donald Trump to resume migrant deportations to countries like El Salvador and Guatemala, the three dissenting judges slammed the decision as a “gross abuse of the court’s equitable discretion.”
Invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, Trump first ordered the deportation of migrants to foreign countries in March, sending hundreds to El Salvador’s notoriously dangerous CECOT prison, including a Maryland man with protected legal status due to an “administrative error.” While federal judges would shortly thereafter issue orders to halt the deportations, the Trump administration would continue to deport dozens of migrants to foreign nations.
It was that continued defiance of federal court orders, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion, signed onto by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Jackson, that led to her decision to vote against staying a preliminary injunction blocking continued deportations.
“Rather than allowing our lower court colleagues to manage this high-stakes litigation with the care and attention it plainly requires, this court now intervenes to grant the Government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied,” Sotomayor wrote. “I cannot join so gross an abuse of the Court’s equitable discretion.”
Sotomayor went on to condemn the Trump administration’s blatant defiance of federal court orders as reckless in what she called a "matter of life and death.”
“It wrongfully deported one plaintiff to Guatemala, even though an immigration judge found he was likely to face torture there,” she wrote.
“Then, in clear violation of a court order, it deported six more to South Sudan, a nation the State Department considers too unsafe for all but its most critical personnel. An attentive district court’s timely intervention only narrowly prevented a third set of unlawful removals to Libya.”
Three different news reports are saying that Iran has fired missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar.
Wall Street Journal national security reporter Lara Seligman noted just before noon EST Monday, "Iran is moving missile launchers into place for a potential attack on U.S. forces in the Middle East in response to the surprise American strike on three nuclear sites over the weekend, according to U.S. officials. DOD tracking a 'credible' threat to U.S. forces in the region."
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a post on X that it suspended air traffic around the same time "to ensure the safety of citizens, residents and visitors."
"Iran has fired missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq. Extent of damage--and whether there are US casualties--will be crucial in determining whether there is additional escalation," Gregory Brew, senior analyst of Iran and Energy at The Eurasia Group, reported.
Axios global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid said on X that an "Israeli official" told him "Iran launched 6 missiles towards U.S. bases in Qatar."
WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party is at a crossroads, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett says she’s got the roadmap her beleaguered caucus needs.
The Texas Democrat known for electrifying the internet is only serving her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is why her bid to become ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tuesday is turning heads.
“We have a very interesting figure that is currently in the White House, and I think I'm uniquely suited to kind of be the opposition to him,” Crockett told Raw Story, while walking through the Capitol.
“He already envisions me that way, and I'm sure, if there's one person he doesn't want in that seat, I'm sure it's me.”
Crockett is part of a four-candidate race to succeed nine-term Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year.
With younger progressives challenging veteran incumbents in heated primaries from coast to coast, this week’s internal Democratic debate over which direction the House Oversight Committee should go indicates broader tensions dividing the party ahead of the 2026 midterms.
‘I hate that committee’
Crockett knows how to get attention. But getting clicks is different than delivering Democrats out of the proverbial political wilderness voters banished them to in November.
Everyone on Capitol Hill knows Crockett is adept at garnering free media coverage and retweets. That’s no longer enough. In recent weeks, Crockett’s been pitching herself as a team player.
“So my big pitch is getting us to the majority and making sure that we start to build a rapport with the American people,” she said.
“From raising money to giving money away, I think a part of leadership is more than just kind of running the committee, it’s making sure that we can help the caucus get to the majority.”
While Crockett needs to convince her peers to back her move up the power ladder, in meetings with colleagues she’s been highlighting the party’s need to appeal outside the Washington Beltway. The 44-year-old lawyer sees herself as Democrats’ bridge to the future.
“We've got to think about, ‘How is this going to be perceived by the outside?’ Will they then become more engaged? Because we need people to be more engaged in government,” Crockett said.
“We need them to know what it is that we're doing and what it is that we're fighting for.”
Republicans sense Democratic weakness on the Oversight Committee.
“You see how all over the map they are?” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) laughed to Raw Story after a recent high-profile hearing.
“When we were in the minority, our goal was always to try to at least win the hearing. Determine what your narrative and point is, and then see how much you can hammer it home.”
Being confined to the minority means Democrats are mostly locked out of the legislative process. That makes committee work tiresome for most, except those on the headline-grabbing Oversight panel.
"Because of the subject matter that it covers — which is anything — it has the propensity to actually elevate issues into headline issues,” Biggs said. “It has the potential to be a very high-profile committee, consistently.”
Oversight attracts rabble-rousers. On the right, there’s Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO). On the left, four out of seven of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ (D-NY) so-called “Squad” members call Oversight home.
Still, the committee isn’t for everyone.
“I hate that committee,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) told Raw Story. “I was on it as a freshman. You don’t pass bills. You just go there to get on TV.”
Getting on TV used to be little more than a vanity project. These days, if your party isn’t winning American screens, it‘s barely even an afterthought. Far-right Freedom Caucus Republicans on the Oversight Committee know this all too well.
“Part of Oversight is conducting oversight and questioning these officials on why they continue to put their constituents and their citizens last and making sure that Americans get to see it on TV," Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) told Raw Story.
"That's a part of what Oversight is all about, so that the people in this country know what their representatives are doing.”
'Bomb throwing'
Crockett’s got competition. Connolly tapped 12-term Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) to take over as top Democrat on Oversight — which has had many Republicans laughing or cringing as they’ve witnessed him ratchet up his rhetoric in recent weeks.
“He’s very different – the grotesque rhetoric,” Biggs told Raw Story, after Lynch compared ICE agents to the Gestapo at one hearing. “He's trying to show that he can compete on the bomb throwing.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) speaks to reporters. Photo: Reuters
The bomb throwing comes natural to two-term Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). He’s been turning heads on social media since coming to Washington in 2023, and is making a similar pitch asCrockett: that he’s youthful, very online and understands angst in the next generation.
While the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has formally endorsed Garcia, the Congressional Black Caucus isn’t formally endorsing in this race, in part, because two of its members are facing off in the contest.
Which brings us to the last candidate pitch, which comes from the other side of the seniority spectrum.
After winning a fifth term in 1996, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) resigned his seat to become president of the NAACP. In 2020, voters sent him back to Washington, maintaining the seniority from his first time in Congress — a card he’s playing to his peers, arguing the party needs the wisdom of old amid today’s digital duress.
The four candidates vying to be the senior Democrat on Oversight are twisting their rank-and-file peers into knots.
“You have four very different candidates, very different backgrounds. You have seniority versus kind of the younger generation," Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) told Raw Story. “On policy, I don’t think there’s much difference between the four of them. On style, there is.”
The six-term congressman feels the tension between rewarding veterans and passing the baton to the next generation, which is why Crockett’s been on his radar.
“She’s got a talent on how to use social media. Talks about the younger generation, how to engage them,” Bera said. "I think there's something about seniority and experience, but I also think — I'm not the social-media darling — but you have folks that do know how to use those tools to communicate.”
Others concur.
“Clearly, I believe in seniority. It would be against my own personal interest not to be,” 10-term Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) told Raw Story. “Everything equal I would certainly want to take the person with seniority — everything being equal. You know, these are some unusual times.”
Given the recent dustup at the Democratic National Committee over former vice-chair and anti-gun violence activist David Hogg’s decision to back primary challenges to sitting members of Congress, many congressional Democrats have been frustrated watching the party squabble.
“We’re wasting a lot of energy and money trying to help Donald Trump when we start fighting like this. It makes absolutely no sense. It’s not helpful,” Cleaver said.
Cleaver’s a former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), which recently invited all four Oversight candidates to a forum where they privately pitched their peers.
“One thing that I will say that I thought was great about this forum is all about who the best leader for this committee would be,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), the current CPC chair, told Raw Story.
“It wasn’t about whose turn it is, it was all about who the best leader for the committee is and I think that's a good thing for Congress.”
Many senior Democrats are trying to stay out of the fray, for fear they may attract a primary challenger. But with an increasing number of progressives targeting what they see as an out-of-touch seniority system, veteran Democrats are embracing the four-way Oversight contest.
“It’s their prerogative,” Rep. John Larson (D-CT) told Raw Story. “Especially these days, there's a lot of feeling out there on seniority, term limits and all those discussions. You always go through these trends.”
“Do you think the seniority system still matters?” Raw Story pressed.
“Yes, I do. I think experience matters,” Larson said. “It's an education process for people, so I do think that that's important.”
‘New, energetic voices’
With Democratic leaders still trying to figure out how they failed the party’s base in 2024 by allowing President Donald Trump to win a second term, Republicans are giddy.
“Does top slot on Oversight for Dems really matter?” Raw Story asked.
“It does for the messaging for the Democrats,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) — another darling of the far-right Freedom Caucus — told Raw Story. “Democrats, nationally their polling is in the sh—er … so it's just all propaganda.”
Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene , Lauren Boebert and Anna Paulina Luna sit in an Oversight Committee Hearing. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Democrats are looking for a powerful, unifying voice, which is why Crockett’s become a party favorite.
“She's certainly a dynamic voice, and injects some new energy into a Congress that needs it,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told Raw Story. “We need new, energetic voices.”
Crockett’s promising more than her megaphone. She’s trying to convince her colleagues she’s adept at more than winning news cycles: she wants to win back the White House, starting by reclaiming the House majority in 2026.
“Talking about things such as listening to people, not when we're asking them for votes, but like right now,” Crockett said. “Doing some shadow field hearings in Republican backyards where they don't want to show up. We're listening to the real stories of the people, letting their neighbors hear from them.”
Crockett’s also promising her peers she’s willing to share center stage.
“Doing my best to make sure that we're uplifting the voices of the team,” she told Raw Story.
“This is a very young committee, and so introducing them to the American people so that people don't feel like there's only a couple of Democrats that are part of the opposition, but they start to see more faces and voices.”
Crockett’s Oversight Committee bid is about more than just going viral. A trial lawyer by training, she argues her resume makes her a perfect fit for the Trump-era.
“Investigations is kind of all I did,” Crockett said, with a knowing laugh. “I dealt with criminals a lot so I know how to deal with them, that's for sure.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) speaks to reporters. Photo: Reuters 
Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene , Lauren Boebert and Anna Paulina Luna sit in an Oversight Committee Hearing. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque