Tipsheet

We Now Know Why AOC Cried on the House Floor After Iron Dome Vote

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  September 29, 2021 8:00 AM

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has explained why she shed tears on the House floor last week over a vote on funding Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

“Yes, I wept,” the New York progressive wrote in a letter to constituents. "I wept at the complete lack of care for the human beings that are impacted by these decisions, I wept at an institution choosing a path of maximum volatility and minimum consideration for its own political convenience. And I wept at the complete lack of regard I often feel our party has to its most vulnerable and endangered members and communities—because the death threats and dangerous vitriol we’d inevitably receive by rushing such a sensitive, charged, and under-considered vote weren’t worth delaying it for even a few hours to help us do the work necessary to open a conversation of understanding.” 

AOC said she opposed the bill but cast a present vote, which she didn't explain in the letter. She has previously criticized lawmakers who cast such votes, like former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who voted present on impeachment. At the time, Ocasio-Cortez said members of Congress are sent there "to lead" and should vote either yes or no. 

“To those I have disappointed – I am deeply sorry," she wrote in the letter. "To those who believe this reasoning is insufficient or cowardice – I understand."