Rep. Ro Khanna plans to throw his full weight behind Barbara Lee, his fellow representative from California, if she makes a final decision to run for caucus chair, a leadership position being vacated by New York’s Rep. Joe Crowley. The House Democratic Caucus chair role opened up after Crowley’s surprise primary loss to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last month. Crowley was considered next in line to be speaker of the House, and his leaving Congress is already shaking up the leadership structure. Lee has been canvassing Democratic House members to gauge support ahead of any official announcement, but she has made her intention to run clear. Khanna’s full-throated support makes the backing of the full Congressional Progressive Caucus, a bloc of 78 Democrats that is likely to grow by 2019 and of which he is a member, that much more likely. “I am proud to support Barbara Lee for conference chair. I will be rallying my colleagues in the progressive caucus for her and also incoming freshman whose campaigns I have helped,” he told The Intercept. “I have often said that if John F. Kennedy were writing ‘Profiles of Courage’ today, there would be a chapter on Barbara Lee. Her vote in opposing the blank check to war is one of the most courageous acts of modern time.”

Lee cast the lone vote against authorization of the use of military force after the 9/11 attacks, warning presciently it would be used to justify endless war. Despite Lee’s iconoclasm, she has not played the role of lone wolf, instead engaging regularly in internal caucus politics. “Barbara also has sought out younger members to work with, and has helped me build relationships with the CBC and progressive caucus,” Khanna said, referring to the Congressional Black Caucus. She ran for a leadership post in 2016 — vice chair of the Democratic Caucus — against Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., and fell just two votes short. She has since said that her flaw was beginning her campaign too late, a mistake she does not plan to replicate this go-round. She announced her last bid in January 2016, long before the election in November, but a month after her opponent, Sanchez, had already begun rounding up support. Leadership elections come after the general election, and newly elected members are eligible to vote. Crowley’s surprise loss resulted in a truncated race to replace him; no other candidate has yet stepped forward.

“Her vote in opposing the blank check to war is one of the most courageous acts of modern time.”

Lee’s ascension to a significant leadership post would be a signal to grassroots activists that the strength of their opposition to the status quo is being felt inside the Capitol. Her bid is also likely to be welcomed by Nancy Pelosi, who is vulnerable in her role as House minority leader and would benefit from progressive energy directed at electing Lee to the chair position rather than at ousting Pelosi from her top spot. “I was not seriously considering this until Tuesday night,” Lee told the Washington Post two days after Ocasio-Cortez’s win. “If this were not an open seat, I’d be making a different calculation. But things move fast around here, and I didn’t want to wait until November to start looking at this.” Her consideration was prompted by Ocasio-Cortez, who floated Lee as a potential for a different role — speaker of the House — when asked if she would support Pelosi. (A Democrat will assume speakership if the party succeeds at retaking the chamber in the midterm elections.) “I’d like to see new leadership, but I don’t even know what our options are,” she told the Post. “I mean, is Barbara Lee running? Call me when she does!”

.@Ocasio2018 floats @RepBarbaraLee as a new potential speaker. I’ve actually heard that from other members of Congress and it’s not as out there as people may think.



She previously ran for a leadership post, losing narrowly to Linda Sanchezhttps://t.co/pMJ3uQweoi — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) June 27, 2018