Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, will back Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) to succeed him over Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who announced a challenge to Grijalva’s leadership before the Arizona Democrat announced he would not seek to retain the leadership position.
“Rep. Stansbury has made her mark as a strategic and tenacious advocate for advancing environmental justice, strengthening tribal sovereignty, and securing water for communities in the drought-stricken West,” Grijalva said in a statement Thursday. “Her tenure as Ranking Member on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee proves her leadership in standing up to polluting industries and holding them to account, even when Democrats don’t hold the gavel.”
Grijalva, who is retiring after the term he won in November, announced last week that he would step back from his role as the panel’s top Democrat last week after 10 years. The Arizona Democrat had initially told The Hill he intended to seek to retain the leadership position in the next Congress, but announced on Monday that it was “the right moment to pass the torch.”
The 12-term Democrat announced an unspecified cancer diagnosis in April, and was absent from the Capitol for much of the session as he underwent treatment.
Stansbury was elected in 2021, succeeding Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Huffman had previously called for committee Democrats to name Grijalva the committee’s “Ranking Member Emeritus,” vowing to “look to him as a key partner in guiding the Committee through the challenges and opportunities of the next two years.”
The potential for a succession fight stands in stark contrast to the House Judiciary Committee, where Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday that he will cede the ranking member position to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) rather than face a challenge from the Maryland Democrat to the position.
The Hill has reached out to Huffman’s office for comment.
