A fierce internal battle is developing among House Democrats for a job that might not even be open next Congress.

Reps. Sara Jacobs of California and Lauren Underwood of Illinois are expected to seek the caucus vice chair post. The job is currently held by Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who is expected to step aside only if Democrats prevail in the midterms — allowing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to become speaker and other members of the party leadership to step one rung up the ladder.

Lieu would be in line to become caucus chair in that scenario, and the vice chair would become the only obvious vacancy in the House Democratic hierarchy.

Jacobs sent a Dear Colleague letter Monday officially declaring her run, while a person familiar with Underwood’s thinking who was granted anonymity to discuss her plans said she is “definitely running” but is “exclusively focused on winning back the House” for the time being.

The two candidates already hold lower several level leadership positions. Jacobs is the parliamentarian of House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee and is a regional vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Underwood is a co-chair of House Democrats’ messaging arm, the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. She is also a co-chair of the DCCC’s Red to Blue program.

Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts had also been floating a run to colleagues but announced Wednesday she is no longer pursuing the role. Some House Democrats have bristled at Trahan’s attempt to broker a bipartisan deal to regulate artificial intelligence.

“Rep. Trahan is grateful to the many colleagues who’ve encouraged her to run for Vice Chair,” spokesperson Francis Grubar said in a statement. “She has decided not to seek the position, and will keep her focus on the issues she’s been working diligently to address, including confronting the real risks of frontier AI.”

“She’ll keep doing everything in her power to elect Democrats, retake the House, and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker,” he added.

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