GOP chairman says he’s a ‘big AOC fan,’ supports her bid to be top Democrat on Oversight Committee

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Thursday that he’s a “big fan” of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he supports the progressive lawmaker’s bid to become the ranking member of the committee he chairs. Noting that he has a “lot of differences” with her on policy, Comer repeatedly told CNN that Ocasio-Cortez is a “good person” and “well-spoken.” He also claimed she would be a “great” choice to co-chair the oversight committee, adding that he had a fraught relationship with the outgoing ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin. “I think she‘s very well-spoken.” Pointing out that it’s not a “secret” that he “did not have a good relationship” with Raskin, who he regularly butted heads with during the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, Comer insisted that the “Democrats have nowhere to go but up” with their next ranking member. “We‘ll obviously have a lot of differences on policy, but I think she’s a good, well-spoken person for the Democrats to serve in that position.” While the New York congresswoman has long become a frequent target of criticism for the right and obsessively cast by conservative media as a bogeywoman, she’s also made unlikely friends across the aisle on Capitol Hill.