Ocasio-Cortez Declines to Promise Support for Pelosi as Speaker, Will Back ‘Most Progressive Candidate’ By Mairead McArdle
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday hedged on whether she would support Nancy Pelosi as House speaker again, saying she will support the “most progressive” candidate.
“If Speaker Pelosi runs again, as she just indicated she will if the Democrats keep the House, will you support her?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the freshman congresswoman during an interview on CNN.
“Again, I want to make sure that we win the House. I do believe that we will, but it’s critically important that we are supporting Democrats in tight swing races, making sure that not only all of them come back but that we grow our majority. I believe that we have to see those races as they come, see what candidates are there,” Ocasio-Cortez responded.
“I am committed to making sure that we have the most progressive candidate there. But, if Speaker Pelosi is that most progressive candidate, then I will be supporting her,” she concluded.
The New York progressive’s remarks came just moments after Pelosi confirmed on CNN that she intends to run for speaker of the House should Democrats retain their majority in the chamber.
Last year, Pelosi clashed with Ocasio-Cortez and three other freshmen progressive congresswomen after the four voted against an emergency border-aid bill brought to the floor by leadership, saying they wanted to see more protections for migrants in the measure.
“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said after the bill passed in July last year. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people, and that’s how many votes they got.”
Ocasio-Cortez then took issue with Pelosi’s minimizing the influence of the four representatives.
“It got to a point where it was just outright disrespectful,” she said at the time. “The explicit singling out of newly elected women of color.”
However, the two had an amicable meeting and united shortly afterwards on a resolution condemning President Trump’s remarks about the congresswomen as racist.
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