WASHINGTON ― Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) announced Monday his cancer has returned and he will step back from his role as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
In December, Democrats chose Connolly for the position over the much younger Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in an internal election that served as a possible signal of the party’s direction after Joe Biden’s stumbling performance during last year’s presidential campaign.
Democrats knew of Connolly’s esophageal cancer diagnosis but told HuffPost ahead of the vote that they were impressed by his vigor during internal party meetings.
“After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned,” Connolly, 75, said in a statement Monday.
“The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress,” Connolly wrote. “I will be stepping back as Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee soon.”
Connolly also said he wouldn’t seek reelection. He’s represented Virginia’s 11th District in the Washington suburbs since 2009.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) praised Connolly on Monday as “a steadfast public servant who has spent his career serving Northern Virginians with honor and integrity.”
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) will sit in Connolly’s place alongside Comer at the center of the dais when the committee meets this week, a Democratic aide told HuffPost.
From his perch as the committee’s top Democrat, or “ranking member,” Connolly has used official letters to highlight apparent legal violations by President Donald Trump’s government. Connolly revealed in a letter, for instance, that the acting director of the Social Security Administration canceled vital records with the state of Maine as political payback for the state’s Democratic governor’s opposition to the anti-transgender policies of the Trump administration.
In December, Connolly called questions about his age a “false narrative” propagated by the media.
“We’re looking at capability. We’re not looking at age,” he told reporters.
Connolly’s announcement follows the deaths of two House Democrats in their 70s earlier this year: Reps. Sylvester Turner (Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) both died in March.
It’s not clear how soon Democrats could choose someone else to formally take Connolly’s place. Ocasio-Cortez, who has crisscrossed the country holding huge rallies with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), no longer sits on the Oversight Committee. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tributes to Connolly poured in from his Democratic colleagues on Monday. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said his career “exemplified the very best of public service” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) praised his most recent work.
“During the recent unprecedented attacks on federal employees, Gerry has been a relentless advocate for the incredible civil servants who make up the backbone of his district’s workforce,” Jeffries said.
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