Is far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) quietly breaking from her longtime progressive friends over a possible bid at the White House in 2028?
The allure of power has once again broken another champagne socialist, it seems.
AOC shocked voters in California this week after giving a less-than-glowing response when asked about a former staffer’s congressional bid to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Ocasio-Cortez was confronted by a reporter for DropSite this week who offered her a chance to “clear up” rampant speculation about Saikat Chakrabarti, who was her chief of staff for roughly seven months in 2019 and is now running for Pelosi’s congressional seat.
For weeks, AOC has refused to publicly support Chakrabarti’s bid for the critical California seat despite him using AOC’s face and name all over his campaign ads.
“I’m just not commenting on the race,” the far-left New York congresswoman said.
Drop Site’s @JulianAndreone caught up with Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) to follow up about her decision to stay out of her former Chief of Staff Saikat Chakrabarti’s race to succeed Nancy Pelosi in Congress. https://t.co/xmnpx7Qf5T pic.twitter.com/NSvUYMBm2z
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 21, 2026
Saikrabarti has bragged about his ties to Ocasio-Cortez as a key selling point to voters to replace Pelosi. According to reports, he’s using her photo on campaign fliers and even is taking credit for penning “The Green New Deal,” an AOC-sponsored bill voted down in the House and Senate in 2019.
The 40-year-old tech centimillionaire, a Harvard grad and former Sen. Bernie Sanders organizer, has also poured nearly $5 million of his own money into his bid to replace retiring Pelosi in the House of Representatives.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned from working with Bernie and AOC, it’s that you just have to try,” Chakrabarti wrote on X in one of many mentions of Ocasio-Cortez on social media during his campaign.
“Having worked with AOC, I can safely say she’s one of a kind. But I’d be honored to represent San Francisco in Congress and join AOC to build a society that truly works for all,” Chakrabarti wrote in another flattering post mentioning AOC last year.
Having worked with AOC, I can safely say she is one of a kind. But I’d be honored to represent San Francisco in Congress and join AOC to build a society that truly works for all. pic.twitter.com/dExoVKyD4E
— Saikat Chakrabarti for Congress (@saikatc) February 19, 2026
However, insiders believe there was a major falling out between him and AOC, leading to the apparent snub.
Chakrabarti has accused fellow Democrats of racism in incendiary tweets and slamming then-House Speaker Pelosi for “weak leadership,” according to media reports.
Don Ford, a progressive activist who volunteered on AOC’s 2018 campaign for Congress, highlighted a 2019 Federal Election Commission investigation targeting Chakrabarti, who also founded two progressive fundraising groups called the Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress.
Chakrabarti was probed for funneling around $1 million into private companies he controlled. The feds closed the case without penalties.
“The FEC investigated him, and it became a Republican talking point against AOC,” recalled Ford.
“He’s the last type of person we want in Congress. Dude, just stop!”
So far, the only major endorsement that Chakrabarti has secured in his bid to replace Pelosi is that of a famous drag queen dubbed “Peaches Christ.”
Chakrabarti, 40, shared a now viral video of “Peaches Christ” endorsing him on social media after he announced his intention to run last month.
In the footage, she says: “San Francisco has a rare opportunity right now. This congressional race will decide whether we keep accepting business as usual or whether we send someone to Washington willing to actually challenge the systems that created the crises we’re living through.”
The bizarre endorsement received swift backlash online, with many pondering whether Chakrabarti was taking his campaign to succeed Pelosi seriously.
One wrote: “Dude what is this? no one is forcing you to do this? just focus on affordability please.”
Another posted: “Nothing like being dragged to back a billionaire when there is another option who is not a billionaire or a billionaire’s bro.”