After Republicans swept the 2024 elections -- winning the presidency and control of the House and Senate, plus broad gains in nearly every state -- there was some talk about Democrats abandoning their more controversial leftist positions and moving back toward the ideological center, where most American voters are.

Alas, that will likely not be the case, if recent reported shifts in Democratic committee leadership are any indication, as it appears that the party's radical leftists in Congress are on the rise instead of retreating, according to the Washington Examiner.

One prime example of that is the reported replacement of Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) by Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD) as the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, with Raskin likely to be replaced in his current role as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Raskin to replace Nadler as head of Judiciary Committee

The Hill reported earlier this month that Rep. Nadler, who reached the top rank on the Judiciary Committee in 2017 and helped lead both impeachments of former President Donald Trump in his first term, surprised everyone by suddenly ending his bid to remain as the ranking Democrat on the critically important panel.

Paired with that announcement that he intended to step down from his committee leadership role, Nadler also revealed that he had endorsed Rep. Raskin to be his replacement in the top spot on the committee, which would place Raskin in line to be the next committee chair when Democrats next regain majority control of the House.

In a letter that publicly revealed his decisions, Nadler wrote at the time that he was "proud that, under my leadership, some of our caucus’s most talented rising stars have been given a platform to demonstrate their leadership and their abilities," and specifically noted, "That includes Jamie Raskin, who in just a few terms in Congress has already proven himself to be an exceptional leader and spokesperson for our party’s values."

"As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger," Nadler added.

Ocasio-Cortez poised to take top position on Oversight Committee

With Rep. Raskin likely to replace Rep. Nadler as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, that opened up Raskin to be similarly replaced in the top spot on the Oversight Committee, with the top two contenders for that position being Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the most senior Democrat on the panel, and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.

According to Politico, Ocasio-Cortez appears to have gained the advantage in that competition over Connolly, given that she reportedly has secured the support of more than a majority of Democratic members on the committee to be the next ranking member and, perhaps, chair of the panel.

That will certainly help the young congresswoman make her case for why she should be in charge of Oversight Democrats, but doesn't clinch it for her, as the final decision will be made next week by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, followed by a vote of the entire Democratic caucus.

Those remaining obstacles to her ascendency may ultimately prove to be mere formalities, though, as she has emerged as the clear favorite and has the backing of Raskin, who previously appointed Ocasio-Cortez to serve as his vice-ranking member and has helped mentor her as a lawmaker.

More partisan fighting and radical leftism to come

The American people in November largely rejected the Democratic Party's radical leftist agenda, which one might presume would prompt Democrats to pause and reflect on why a solid majority of voters opted to side with President-elect Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress for the next two years.

Unfortunately, such a presumption would be mistaken, and instead of tracking back toward the center and offering a hand of conciliation and cooperation with the incoming GOP majorities and Trump administration, Democrats appear to be doubling and tripling down on their tired "resistance" mode.

Placing radical anti-Trump leftist progressives like Ocasio-Cortez and Raskin in charge of arguably two of the most important House committees, Oversight and Judiciary, signals a clear intent on the part of Democrats to continue the incessant partisan fighting on those panels, at least for the next two to four years.