Rep. Raúl Grijalva on Monday dropped out of the race to reprise his role as ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee following a challenge from Rep. Jared Huffman.
Grijalva’s (D-Ariz.) exit clears the way for Huffman (D-Calif.) to succeed him as top committee Democrat after months of rising tension between the two progressive lawmakers.
It also caps off a decadelong tenure atop the committee for Grijalva, who has spent the last seven months sidelined by a cancer scare. He returned to Congress last month.
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“I have decided that it is the right moment to pass the torch as top Democrat on the House Natural Resource Committee for the 119th Congress,” Grijalva said in a statement.
