Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Takes a Big Swing At Senate Dems Over Reopening the Government: ‘Problem is Bigger Than One Person’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke to reporters on Wednesday as she returned to Capitol Hill, as the government shutdown nears its end. Ocasio-Cortez was asked to weigh in on the criticism of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who she is widely discussed as potentially challenging in a primary, and Senate Democrats caving to Republicans on funding the government without extending subsidies for Obamacare – their primary ask.

“This is your first week back after six weeks. Just how are you feeling about this?” asked a reporter.

“I mean, we have federal workers across the country that have been missing paychecks. We have SNAP recipients—millions of SNAP recipients across the country—whose access to food stability wasn’t secured. And we have to figure out what that was for, because you had both the capitulation in the Senate and you have the refusal and the outright cruelty among House Republicans and the White House, who went to court to try to sue for their ability to deny people’s access to food. This is the reality that we’re in right now, and we need to act like it, and we cannot enable this kind of cruelty with our cowardice, period,” replied Ocasio-Cortez.

Another reporter followed up, “Should Chuck Schumer stay as minority leader?”

“I think what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate. You had eight Senate Democrats who coordinated their own votes on this, as well as you have two retiring members,” she replied, adding:

Many of them are also up in several cycles from now, with the hope that people are going to forget this moment. And I think what’s important is that we understand that this is actually—this is not just a leader—it’s a reflection of the party. And Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them. And so the question needs to be bigger than just one person.

We have several Senate primaries this cycle. I know I’m being asked about New York; that is years from now. I have to remind my own constituents, because they think that this election is this year—we actually do have Senate elections this year. And my hope is that people across this country actually participate in their primary elections in selecting their leadership. Thank you.

“You didn’t really answer the question,” replied the reporter as Ocasio-Cortez walked away.

Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.