Democrats choose replacement for Dean Phillips’s House leadership position
Cami Mondeaux
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House Democrats elected their newest co-chair to the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, filling the spot left vacant by Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who stepped down from the position earlier this year ahead of launching his long-shot presidential bid.
Democrats tapped Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) to the leadership position, electing the Massachusetts lawmaker in a 132-72 vote Wednesday morning. Trahan defeated Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), who also sought to fill the spot on the party caucus’s main messaging arm.
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“More than anything, I’m humbled by the trust that my colleagues have placed in me to help lead the House Policy Communications Committee,” Trahan told reporters on Wednesday. “I ran for this position because I want to do everything in my power to defeat Republican extremism, retake the House, and return the American people to the center of everything that we do.”
Trahan was first elected in 2019 and has served in an array of positions during her time in the House, including positions on House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA) whip team, as well as the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She’ll join Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) as co-chairs on the committee, with Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) serving as the chairman.
The position opened after Phillips announced in October he would step down from the leadership position, citing his “incongruent position” with President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Phillips launched his presidential bid just weeks after and announced last week he would not run for reelection to his House seat.
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“After three terms it is time to pass the torch,” Phillips said in a statement. “No party has a monopoly on solutions, and we must stop fighting one another and begin fighting for one another — before it is too late.”
Phillips is one of two Democratic opponents seeking to unseat Biden, the other being author Marianne Williamson. Biden leads both challengers in early polling by at least 60 points.