The new top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee is ready for a fight.
“I think I got elected because I am aggressive,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in an interview. “I think that we’ve got to be fighters in this moment.”
In June, House Democrats picked Garcia, a sophomore congressman, over several more senior colleagues to lead their party on the committee. At 47, the California native is the youngest ranking member in Congress.
Known for its raucous hearings and investigations into some of the most prominent and divisive areas of American politics, the House Oversight Committee is among the most high profile arenas in Congress. The committee chair has the power to subpoena witnesses and the broad authority to dig into virtually any topic — that has included the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, steroid usage in Major League Baseball, and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garcia succeeds the late Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who died in May following a battle with cancer, and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., who briefly filled the role for Democrats on an acting basis.
He comes to the job at a moment when Democrats are craving more direct confrontation with President Trump and Republicans in Congress, but as ranking member, he faces inherent challenges. Unlike the GOP chair, he’s unable to set the agenda for the committee and lacks subpoena power.
That doesn’t phase Garcia, who said he’s ready to lean into the fray.
“People are just pissed off at what’s happened with Donald Trump, Elon Musk, the House Republicans,” Garcia said. “And people want to see a good fight.”