Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rebuked a reporter for asking if Republicans should negotiate with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to end the ongoing government shutdown on Wednesday.
After being asked if she was going to primary Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and whether she believes he has decided to shut down the government because he’s worried about such a challenge on MSNBC Tuesday night, Ocasio-Cortez replied:
This is so not about me in this moment. This is about people being able to insure their children. And I will say, because I saw some senators speculating about this, and I saw some Republican members of Congress saying, “Oh, well, if we have this shutdown, it’s because of AOC.”
Well, if that’s the case, my office is open and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly, because what I’m not going to do is tolerate four million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he wants to just make sure that kids are dying because they don’t have access to insurance
That’s what’s not gonna happen. And so if those senators think that we’re having a shutdown because of me, they’re free to enter my office and negotiate, because what we’re not going to do is allow all of millions of people in this country to not be able to afford their insulin and their chemotherapy. So, come strike a deal with me, if that’s what you really think is going on.
REPORTER: There was a thought from the Republicans that AOC is directing this, and she said that senators are welcome to go to her office directly. Is she driving that?
PELOSI: Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?
REPORTER: I’m just quoting what AOC said. She said go to her office directly, do you think there’s any credibility to that?
PELOSI: She is not directing this. She’s wonderful, she’s a real team player, and the rest of that. You started by saying Republicans say that she’s directing this. She is not, Hakeem Jeffries is, and this takes a lot of experience, a lot of unity from the caucus in terms of the point of view, and that’s what this is. She’s an articulate spokesperson for her point of view. Hakeem Jeffries.
Late last year, it was revealed that Pelosi worked “to tank” Ocasio-Cortez’s bid to become the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
