Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took a shot at her party’s leadership, calling for Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to step aside. The self-proclaimed socialist congresswoman said that she herself is “not ready” to serve as speaker, but lamented that the Democratic party needs new leadership in Congress.
“I do think that we need new leadership in the Democratic Party…the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there's very little option for succession,” she said in an interview with The Intercept. “It's easy for someone to say, ‘Oh well, you know, why don't you run?’ but the House is extraordinarily complex, and I'm not ready. It can't be me. I know that I couldn't do that job.”
In addition to calling for new Dem leadership in Congress, AOC also condemned Biden filling his ranks with Wall Street types and ex-Obama/Clinton hangers-on. The barnacles of DC return to the White House for another round of status quo governing. pic.twitter.com/fp5mFDFpif
— jordan (@JordanUhl) December 16, 2020
Both Pelosi and Schumer cruised to leadership reelection, though Pelosi still must overcome a floor vote in January with her slim majority in the lower chamber. Ocasio-Cortez added that the “power-concentrated dynamic” created by Pelosi and Schumer has disenfranchised “really talented members” to leave Congress. Though the New York congresswoman indicated that her party needs new leadership, she warned that Democrats have "no plan" to "fill the vacuum" of congressional leadership. Aside from looking for new leadership, Ocasio-Cortez did not indicate that she would vote against Pelosi in January, thus far.