AOC’s Ex-Chief of Staff Says He’ll Try To Oust ‘Paralyzed and Unprepared’ Nancy Pelosi
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) former chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti announced his intention to run against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Wednesday.
“I’ve got some news: I’ve decided to run against Nancy Pelosi to represent San Francisco in Congress,” announced Chakrabarti on social media. “I know some of you might be surprised that Speaker Emeritus Pelosi is running again, but she is — for her 21st term!”
He continued:
Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership. I don’t understand how DC’s Democratic leaders are so paralyzed and unprepared for this moment after living through President Trump’s first term — and after Trump and Elon warned us exactly what they planned to do.
I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago. In an interview with Ezra Klein after Trump’s victory, Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree. When Democrats were about to appoint their star communicator — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — to chair the powerful Oversight committee to hold Trump and his cronies accountable, Pelosi personally intervened to block it.
When Nancy Pelosi was first elected to Congress, you could buy a home on a single income. A summer job could pay for college. Republicans believed in climate change and respected election results. Now, the things that defined the American Dream — being able to afford health care, education, a home, and raise a family — are impossible for most people. And the Republican Party is overtly conspiratorial and anti-democracy. The Democratic Party needs to stop acting like it’s competing against a normal political party that plays by the rules, and it needs a bold vision for how to raise living standards, quality of life and security for all Americans. America is stuck, and Americans want real solutions that are as big as the problems we face.
Chakrabarti concluded, “I know it might seem it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings. Winning this campaign will require months of organizing — online and on the street — to connect with every single voter in San Francisco. I’m excited for the work.”
Chakrabarti co-founded the progressive political PAC Justice Democrats in 2017, alongside The Young Turks co-creator Cenk Uygur, political commentator Kyle Kulinski, and former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign senior adviser Zack Exley.
Justice Democrats put up Ocasio-Cortez as a candidate for Congress in New York – which Chakrabarti led as campaign manager – and following her victory, he was appointed her chief of staff. Chakrabarti resigned as chief of staff in 2019.
Pelosi has served in Congress since 1987. Chakrabarti – who is 39 – was less than two years old when Pelosi first became a U.S. representative from California.
