Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “seismic” landslide victory over the corporate-friendly war hawk Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) will soon leave the top leadership post in the House Democratic Conference vacant, and anti-war progressive Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) is reportedly considering running for the job.

“Barbara Lee is one of the bravest and most underrated members of Congress.”
—Osita Nwanevu, Slate“The majority of the country wants to see Democrats unified, but speaking with one voice on healthcare, affordable housing, fair wages, and climate change,” Lee told the Washington Post‘s Dave Weigel, who first reported on Lee’s potential run on Thursday. “I could bring a vision to this job based on my work with different caucuses—my time as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, my record with the Congressional Black Caucus.”

A career-long member of the Democratic Party’s left-most wing, Lee is a strong supporter of Medicare for All and was the only member of Congress to vote against the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that launched the so-called “war on terror,” which to this day continues to expand throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa with disastrous consequences.

Lee also voted against the 2002 Iraq Resolution, which provided congressional backing for the Bush administration’s catastrophic and illegal invasion that killed over a million people.

Crowley, by contrast, voted yes on both.