Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., an advocate for improving federal employee pay and benefits, will lead Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee as ranking member when the new Congress begins in January.
The panel has jurisdiction over federal personnel, the U.S. Postal Service and supervises government operations. Therefore, Connolly will likely spearhead opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to remove civil service job protections for potentially tens of thousands of federal employees under Schedule F, to possibly privatize USPS and to restructure federal agencies.
“We know what the Republican playbook will be. We have seen it before. They have demonstrated that they are willing to traffic in debunked conspiracy theories and enable the worst abuses of the Trump administration,” Connolly said in a statement on Tuesday. “This will be trench warfare. Now is not the time to be timid.”