House

Cicilline bows out of assistant leader race, paving path for Lujan

by Mike Lillis - 11/21/18 10:59 AM ET

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) on Wednesday dropped out of the race to become the fourth-ranking Democrat in the next Congress and announced a bid to lead the party’s messaging arm instead.

The move means that Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the head of the Democrats’ campaign arm, will run unopposed to become assistant leader next year — the No. 4 spot in their newly won majority that’s being vacated by Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who’s seeking to become majority whip.

The move by Cicilline represented an acknowledgement that Luján, who shepherded the Democrats to sweeping midterm victories as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairman, deserves a spot in the higher ranks of leadership.

{mosads}“Like many of you, I believe that Chairman Lujan deserves a place at the leadership table after helping usher in our historic Democratic victory,” Cicilline wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to fellow Democrats. “Since Chairman Lujan entered the race, I have been asking myself how I can continue to effectively contribute to the Democratic Caucus in an elected leadership position, while recognizing Chairman Lujan’s critical role in our success.”

Cicilline’s decision followed the move by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), co-chairwoman with Cicilline of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), to drop out of the assistant leader race.

She did so shortly after Luján jumped into the contest just after the elections. Bustos is now bidding to replace the New Mexico lawmaker atop the DCCC.

Cicilline will now seek to become chairman of the DPCC. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced late Tuesday that she wants to create the position in the next Congress.

The DPCC was launched by Pelosi in 2015. Former Rep. Steve Isreal (D-N.Y.) filled the post until his retirement in January of 2017.

The spot was expanded following the Democrats’ election drubbing two years ago, with the leadership duties split between three co-chairs selected by the full caucus — an effort by Pelosi to heed calls from her restive caucus to disseminate power more widely to rank-and-file members. Cicilline, Bustos and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) currently fill those sits.

On Tuesday night, Pelosi announced her intention to expand the DPCC once again, by adding a chairmanship position that would serve above the three co-chairs.

Several other lawmakers are already seeking to become co-chairs of the DPCC, including Reps. Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), John Garamendi (Calif.) and Ted Lieu (Calif.), along with Rep.-elect Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.).

It’s unclear if any of those Democrats will seek the soon-to-be-created DPCC chairmanship slot.

The Democrats’ closed-door leadership elections will take place in the Capitol on Nov. 28.