The Democratic National Committee’s credentials panel voted Monday to void activist David Hogg’s election to vice chair of the party.
Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was elected vice chair in February but has drawn criticism from some Democrats over his plans to spend $20 million to take down long-serving Democratic House lawmakers in primaries.
“[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, according to Politico.
“The DNC has pledged to remove me, and this vote has provided an avenue to fast-track that effort,” he added.
The committee, which found procedural violations occurred in the February election, also voted to oust Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta as DNC vice chair.
Hogg and Kenyatta, however, will remain at their posts until the full DNC votes on whether to approve their removals later this year.
Christine Pelosi, a member of the credentials committee and daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), insisted that the vote to void Hogg’s vice chair election win had nothing to do with politics.
“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.
After the panel rejected Pelosi’s proposal to “uphold the elections” and make changes to future procedures “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.”
Pelosi noted that Hogg would be eligible to run in the election redo and insisted that she hopes he decides to.
“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 Chairman Ken Martin, who reportedly circulated a pledge calling for DNC officers to stay neutral in primaries, which Hogg refused to sign, said 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.
On Friday, Hogg, 25, railed against the Democratic Party during an appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” arguing that Dems have become too hostile toward men.
“What I think happened last election is younger men — they would rather vote for somebody who they don’t completely agree with, they don’t feel judged by than somebody who they do agree with, that they feel like they have to walk on eggshells around constantly because they’re going to be judged or ostracized or excommunicated,” Hogg told Maher.
“Ultimately, what we have to do here is figure out how to bring people back in and work towards the bigger goal of advancing the future of this country,” he continued. “Young people should be able to focus on what young people should be focused on, which is how to get laid and how to go and have fun.”
