For months, there’s been grumbling among establishment Democrats that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is effectively controlling the House of Representatives — not House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was elected by Democrats to be their Congressional leader.
However, it’s not just the House that Ocasio-Cortez is controlling through her media presence, insiders say. She’s also spitting in the face of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer by challenging his leadership.
Ocasio-Cortez claims she’s issuing orders to Democrats in the Senate and telling them how to vote.
Last Tuesday, faced with criticism over her $93 trillion “Green New Deal” plan — which received zero “Yes” votes — Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that it was all apart of her plan —
Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others.
McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing.
The real question we should be asking: Why does the Senate GOP refuse to hold any major hearings on climate change? https://t.co/de8oKOXeJf
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019
Political experts say it’s a direct challenge to Schumer, a longtime Democratic senator and party leader that’s also from New York.
As the Democrats senate leader, it should be Schumer — not a freshman lawmaker from the House — that is outlining voting strategies for fellow Democrats.
So either Ocasio-Cortez isn’t telling the truth that she’s dictating voting strategy…or she has been undermining Schumer’s authority. In the highly-sensitive political world of Washington, D.C., undermining leadership is a serious insult to Schumer and his political allies.
In other words, she’s either a liar — or a backstabber.
This isn’t the first time Ocasio-Cortez has challenged her own party’s leadership.
Just one month after being sworn into her first term as a congresswoman, Ocasio-Cortez was seen on video telling her supporters that, “I’m the boss” — and if establishment Democrats didn’t like it, they could get lost.
“I just introduced the Green New Deal two weeks ago, and it’s creating all of this conversation,” Ocasio-Cortez told supporters. “Why? Because no one else has even tried. Because no one else has even tried!”
“So people are like, ‘Oh it’s unrealistic. Oh it’s vague. Oh it doesn’t address this little minute thing,'” the New York socialist added, mocking her own party leadership. “And I’m like, ‘You try! You do it. Cuz you’re not… cuz you’re not. So, until you do it, I’m the boss.’ How about that?'”
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on the widespread criticism of her Green New Deal: "I’m like, you try. … Until you do it, I’m the boss! How about that?!" pic.twitter.com/vkp15KBttd
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) February 24, 2019
The Horn editorial team