WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett dropped her bid Tuesday to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, saying it was clear her “loud and proud” style of politics is not what her party’s congressional leadership wants right now.
The announcement that she was withdrawing came as Democrats gathered to vote on who should fill the position vacated by the death of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, 75.
Crockett said she plans to stick with her approach, which she said works for her constituents in the Dallas-based 30th district.
“At the end of the day, I am who I am, and I believe that my authenticity is what works, and it definitely works for my district in the state of Texas,” Crockett said.
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., won the election, finishing well ahead of U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., dropped out before the vote.
The top Democrat on the Oversight Committee will have a prominent role publicly scrutinizing and opposing President Donald Trump the rest of this Congress. That role would be further heightened if Democrats win a majority of seats in next year’s midterm elections.
Crockett regularly generates headlines with high-profile media appearances and viral moments in committee hearings during which she often pushes back forcefully on the Trump administration and Republicans.
She said Tuesday she will keep that up, albeit without the more formal structure and budget that comes from being the top Democrat on the committee.
“I will still be me,” Crockett said. “I will still be loud and proud.”
One flashpoint in the race had been Crockett signaling she would pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump if she became chair of the panel.
Many other Democrats had been wary of broaching impeachment and the other three candidates would not go as far as Crockett.
On Tuesday, she said her comments about impeachment had been misconstrued to portray her as “going off the rails,” but she was never advocating for a full-on press to remove Trump from office.
She said she was discussing the value of conducting an impeachment inquiry to highlight the president’s bad conduct.
“The American people see a leader, if you want to call him that, who has decided that he is going to consistently violate the Constitution, consistently violate all existing laws and there so far has not been a check on him as it relates to the legislative branch,” Crockett said.
Crockett said her decision to withdraw flowed from the vote taken Monday night by a key steering committee, which typically reflects the thinking of House Democratic leaders.
Garcia received the most steering committee votes with 33, Lynch got 15 and Mfume 8. Crockett finished last with 6.
That was a clear indication of where leadership was, Crockett said, and she opted to withdraw to be a team player and not an impediment to the caucus-wide deliberations Tuesday morning.
“It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for and so I didn’t think that it was fair for me to then push forward,” Crockett said. “What I care about is winning. Now, whether or not we’re going to win and how big we’re going to win, that’s a whole other issue.”
She ticked through the credentials she brought to the race - how she has traveled the country doing more than 100 events for other Democrats, giving out almost $600,000 to other candidates and raising more than $4 million for the caucus.
“That is not what they wanted – and that is fine,” Crockett said.
Crockett’s style has drawn the attention of Trump himself, who has singled her out on several occasions.
That included calling her a “lowlife” and “a very low-IQ person” after she referred to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.”
A reporter highlighted the criticisms Trump has directed at Crockett.
“He’s probably going to be the happiest person about the lack of my candidacy this morning,” Crockett said after withdrawing from the race.