Recent reports indicate that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leveraging her influence within the Democratic Party to impede Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) aspirations for a prominent role in the House. Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive member of the far-left “Squad,” is reportedly seeking to become a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, having previously held the position of vice-ranking member.

In contrast, Pelosi has publicly endorsed Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, who is also vying for the same position. Although Pelosi is no longer part of the House Democratic leadership, her extensive experience and stature within the party continue to wield significant influence, as she is allegedly advocating for Connolly’s candidacy for the Oversight Committee.

Earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez expressed her interest in pursuing the committee role, mentioning that she was in discussions with her congressional colleagues to formalize her candidacy. Despite the purported resistance to her bid, Pelosi has previously commended the New York congresswoman, downplaying any reports of a conflict between them.

Republican analyst Miranda Devine opined that Pelosi’s political strategies have amounted to an egregious failure, particularly after the Kamala Harris campaign spent an exorbitant amount on her unsuccessful presidential bid.

“It’s high time to shatter the myth of Nancy Pelosi as a master strategist. Nobody deserves more blame than the ridiculously self-titled “speaker emerita” for the Democrats’ $1 billion electoral collapse,” Devine said. “Under her ruthless leadership, her party lost the White House, the House, the Senate and the popular vote. You can’t say that enough.”

Devine underscored that she is the sole speaker in history to have relinquished control of the House on two occasions, declaring, “She’s finished.” Nevertheless, Devine noted that Pelosi is pursuing reelection. “Yet she still possesses the audacity to grant herself another term, having submitted her candidacy papers last week for the 2026 election, at the age of 86! She will be 88 by the conclusion of Trump’s term,” she added.

Democratic leaders such as Chuck Schumer and Pelosi to step aside and allow for a reset in the Democratic Party. The remarks from O’Brien come as President-elect Donald Trump gained historic levels of union support, pulling the demographic away from the Democrats.

“So they’ve got a lot of — they’ve got a lot of soul searching to do. And look, I said this earlier today in another interview that, you know, the Democrat Party needs to take a look in the mirror and say, ‘You know, maybe Chuck Schumer’s time is over. Maybe Pelosi’s time is over,” he said unapologetically.

“Let’s figure out who’s going to be the best for the party.’ And look, as an organization, we’re always looking at how do we lead this organization better than we found it. I think that needs to be the focus,” O’Brien asserted. The president of the union concluded, “Look, we all have pensions for a reason. That’s to use them and retire and enjoy your life. Maybe they should take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and step aside.”