Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) Wins Chair of House Oversight Committee

Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), flanked by Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Axios

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) will become the first woman to chair the House Oversight Committee, winning the important assignment by defeating Gerry Connolly (D-VA) with 133 votes against Connolly’s 86.

Maloney has been acting as the committee's chair since the Oct. 17 death of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). Her gavel will immediately thrust the Congresswoman into the limelight, with the Oversight’s key role in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

Rep. Jim Jordan, (R-OH) is known to be a particularly abrasive, heavy-hammer, take-no-prisoners Republican leader on the committee, prompting Connolly to run on the quiet platform that dealing with Jordan is a man’s job.

Given his uninformed, pure badgering performance in this week’s intelligence committee impeachment hearings, Maloney’s supporters dismissed the argument as sexist. Supporters insisted that it was key to have a female voice alongside the two other white men leading the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Maloney secured endorsements from top Democrats like House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), who is also the most powerful black member in Congress. Her promise to focus on important issues beyond investigating Trump was welcome news for moderates “squeezed by the ongoing impeachment furor”, writes Politico.