Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) announced Monday that he will step out of the top Democratic seat on the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, citing the return of the esophageal cancer he’s been battling since late last year.
Connolly said he will also be leaving Congress at the end of the term, his ninth serving Northern Virginia in the House.
“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 Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee soon,” Connolly said in a statement addressing his constituents.
“With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years,” he continued. “My loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family — you all have been a joy to serve.”
The move reopens a seat that had been a topic of contention heading into the new Congress, when Connolly, now in his 17th year in the House, had beaten back a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a more junior lawmaker on the Oversight Committee, for the ranking member spot on the influential panel.
The contest had exposed broader rifts within the House Democratic Caucus about not only the role of seniority in deciding top committee posts, but also the future and image of the party at large after Republicans won control of the House, Senate and White House in November.
The Democrats who had supported Ocasio-Cortez, a six-year veteran of Capitol Hill, had argued for a new generation of younger figures to take the reins of the party and refresh it with new ideas. But Connolly won the race easily, putting him in a coveted spot on a powerful panel with jurisdiction over virtually every facet of the federal government — a seat of outsized importance for the minority Democrats vying to hobble President Trump in his second term.
According to the rules of the House Democratic Caucus, the Oversight ranking member slot must be filled within 30 days from the date the vacancy occurred. The caucus will use the same process as it typically does to elect committee leadership: The Steering and Policy Committee will nominate a member as the designee, then the caucus will vote on the next leader.
Connolly, 75, announced in November that he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus and planned to undergo treatment “right away.”
“I will attack this the only way I know how — with Irish fight and humor,” Connolly wrote in a statement. “With a great team of doctors, nurses, and medical technicians, we are very confident in a successful outcome.”
“Over the next few months as I do my job here in our district and on the Hill, I may be a bit fatigued due to the treatment,” he added. “I hope you’ll understand.”
Despite the news, the Virginia Democrat still ran for the top Democratic slot on the House Oversight Committee, which had become vacant after Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) left to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. Connolly defeated Ocasio-Cortez in a closed-door vote of the caucus.
On Monday, however, Connolly said the return of the cancer has forced a change of heart.
“When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency. After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned,” he said.
“I’ll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace.”
Connolly’s Democratic allies in Virginia quickly weighed in after the announcement, praising Connolly as a highly principled lawmaker and dedicated public servant.
“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,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Monday in a statement.
“I have no doubt that Gerry will continue to fight — for his health, for his community, and for the causes he believes in.”
