In his first return to the city’s Civic Chambers since he was mayor, Congressman Robert Garcia stood before Long Beach family, friends and colleagues to take another oath of office, this time as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The ceremony was officiated by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously swore Garcia into his mayoral office in 2014.
Local dignitaries, including the Long Beach City Council and Community College District Trustees, were also in attendance, with current Mayor Rex Richardson and former Mayor Bob Foster directing their addresses to different parts of Garcia’s career.
“Robert’s journey is a Long Beach story, an immigrant who rose through schools, taught at our university, led our city as mayor, and now represents us on the national stage,” Richardson said.
But each shared a convening message in their speeches: that Garcia represented the few counterpunches to the Trump Administration, and that his success was one in the same for both the residents of Long Beach and Democrats across the nation.
“He has taken on an important role, being the critic of this administration and in the defense of people with little or no power,” Foster said. “I’m proud of his energy. I’m proud of his zeal. I’m proud of his courage to stand up to the kind of bullying tactics that take place every day in this country.”
The former Vice President spoke on Garcia’s time in Congressional office and how he took the ranking seat.
House Democrats in June picked Garcia to chair the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, breaking from a longstanding tradition of awarding the post to the party’s most senior members.
Garcia, 47, won the seat in a 150-63 party vote in June over 70-year-old Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., in a contest seen by many as a generational challenge, as more senior Democrats have in past years shown reluctance to pass on key roles to younger members.
Lynch assumed the role on an interim basis after Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia took a leave of absence in April, and was the fifth person to hold it in six years. None of them was younger than 60 years old.
“I’m so very proud of everyone seeing what we knew,” Harris said. “He was elected by his peers, freshman class representative of Congress, by his peers. The position he is now going to take as a ranking member [is] because he was elected.”
While not a requirement of the post — Garcia has already assumed the seat — the ceremony Wednesday was a welcome formality he wanted to share among his local circle.
When asked, Garcia said the decision for Harris to officiate the ceremony was “an easy choice.”
“She’s been a great supporter and friend, and obviously a historical figure,” Garcia said. “She inspired a lot of us here in California.”
As the main investigative committee in the House, the Oversight Committee is one of the most influential and contentious panels in Congress. Its leadership has the power to investigate, monitor and oversee the federal government and its agencies for misconduct and malfeasance.
While Democrats, as the minority party, cannot unilaterally issue subpoenas or call hearings, Garcia will have the authority to conduct investigations, control Democratic witnesses during hearings and manage debate time on the House floor. Republican leader James Comer, who chairs the Oversight Committee, will have to consult Garcia on issues of procedure and the legislative agenda.
With the position sanctified, Garcia becomes the first sophomore to be elected to hold the ranking post in more than a century.
Over the next several weeks, Garcia said he will direct his authority toward what he sees as an outstanding level of corruption in the Trump Administration, as well as battles he hopes to wage on misinformation, dark money “in Congress or the White House,” strengthening disaster preparedness funding, and restoring public health care.
“This isn’t just going to be about opposing Donald Trump, and there’s a lot to oppose,” Garcia said. “It’s going to also be about delivering for the American public. That means building a government created in truth, driven by public service — not by special interests — and powered by strong, respected work that honors all of our union workers and hard-working people that are laboring every single day.”
Garcia also targeted Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, after a ProPublica report found major discrepancies in vacancy rates for wildland firefighter staffing. While the federal department reported it had reached 99% of its hiring goal, the investigative news outlet found as many as 27% of jobs were vacant as of July 17, even as peak wildfire season approached.
It comes as Garcia has continually pounded the Department of Justice to release files related to disgraced financier and convicted sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein. It’s an issue that has divided the base of President Donald Trump, whose top officials reneged on promises to release details of the case.
In response to a subpoena from Garcia’s committee, the DOJ agreed earlier this month to provide documents and communications relating to the “Epstein files” in batches, something Garcia said is not enough.
Garcia accused Trump of being part of “a cover-up” around the files, saying the President has “weaponized the Department of Justice to increase his power.”
“Congress has to know and understand that Donald Trump is, I believe, the most corrupt person ever to serve as president of the United States,” Garcia said. “And we need to work together to stop him before it’s too late.”