POLITICO
Kathleen Rice beats out AOC for spot on coveted House committee
by Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle
December 17, 2020

Rep. Kathleen Rice has captured a prized seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee after a contentious showdown with fellow New Yorker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Rice and Ocasio-Cortez have been battling behind the scenes for weeks to secure one of the few open seats on the exclusive committee, which oversees everything from health care policy to climate issues. Tensions spilled into the open Thursday in a private meeting of the Steering and Policy Committee, where Democrats were forced to choose between the two members in a tense — and awkward — secret ballot vote…The jockeying between the two New Yorkers has been the most closely watched contest within the Democratic caucus in recent weeks, carrying big implications for both policy and power in the next Congress. READ MORE

NEW YORK POST Pro-Israel progressive Ritchie Torres says he won’t join AOC’s ‘Squad’ He’s a progressive Democrat, but he won’t be signing up with the Squad. Ritchie Torres, going to Washington next month to represent the South Bronx in Congress, says you won’t see him paling around with Democratic Socialists — and cited his strong support for Israel as a primary distinction between them and true progressives like himself.