Politics
DNC Descends Into Chaos As Vice Chair Is Ousted Over ‘DEI Quota’
An executive committee of Democratic bigwigs voted to nullify the election of Parkland shooting activist David Hogg as the party’s vice chair, bringing to an end the tumultuous intraparty feud that defined his brief tenure.
The Democratic National Committee’s credentials panel voted to oust Hogg, 25, from the powerful perch following his promise to provide monetary and political support to progressive, diverse challengers seeking to unseat establishment Democratic members of Congress. His threat coincided with controversy over an outside fund established by Hogg that would have seen him profit handsomely from anti-establishment fundraising despite being the second-highest ranking official in the party, at least on paper.
“[It’s] impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote,” Hogg said in a statement after the vote.
Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, roused public sympathy after the experience and leveraged it to land himself in Harvard University’s class of 2023. However, other survivors of the deadly shooting that claimed the lives of 17 students and teachers have since come forward, alleging Hogg has overstated his proximity to danger that day.
“The DNC has pledged to remove me, and this vote has provided an avenue to fast-track that effort,” he added.
Citing a lack of procedure, the committee found that several formal steps were not followed during the election of Hogg, making his victory invalid. The committee also removed Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, also an outspoken progressive, as another vice chair of the DNC.
Both men, however, will get to remain in their posts until the DNC can elect successors, the NY Post states.
Christine Pelosi, a member of the credentials committee and the daughter of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), insisted the vote had nothing to do with Hogg’s promise to tank the careers of sitting Democratic lawmakers.
“First, I want to say clearly and explicitly that this decision has nothing to do with the service of any DNC officer, especially [Hogg] or [Kenyatta]. This is about a violation of parliamentary procedure that was raised in a challenge filed back in February by another candidate for Vice Chair,” Pelosi wrote on X.
Pelosi added she initially proposed that the DNC “uphold the election” and implement changes to ensure future elections are properly carried out. However, “the Credentials Committee voted on a resolution that recommends that the DNC complete the Vice Chair election, and administer new ballots for the final two Vice Chair positions,” she added.
She said that Hogg remains eligible to run again, and she hopes he does.
“I think I speak for all of us on the Committee when I say I hope both of these talented individuals put their names on the ballot again,” she said. “We’ll move fast to get this resolved. I have total faith in our DNC members to review this issue and vote their conscience.”
DNC Chair Ken Martin, who attempted to coerce fellow party executives to sign a pledge to stay neutral in Democratic primaries which Hogg scoffed at, acknowledged the result of the committee’s vote, saying he was “disappointed to learn that before I became Chair, there was a procedural error in the February Vice Chair elections.”
“The Credentials Committee has issued their recommendation, and I trust that the DNC Members will carefully review the Committee’s resolution and resolve this matter fairly,” Martin’s statement concluded, according to Politico.
