Ocasio-Cortez: Pelosi has my support
Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Speaker on Wednesday, saying that Pelosi “can count on my support.”
“All the challenges to Leader Pelosi are coming from her right, in an apparent effort to make the party even more conservative and bent toward corporate interests,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
“Hard pass. So long as Leader Pelosi remains the most progressive candidate for Speaker, she can count on my support.”
The endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez, a high-profile incoming progressive Democrat, is the latest sign of broad momentum for Pelosi’s bid to retake her Speaker position in the new Congress.{mosads}
Five incoming members had joined a total of 16 House Democrats in signing a letter to colleagues last week urging a change in leadership.
One of those lawmakers to sign onto the letter, Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), reversed his opposition and endorsed Pelosi on Wednesday.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), who was seen as potential challenger to Pelosi, also endorsed her Tuesday after the two met recently.
Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary earlier this year, hinted at her support for Pelosi over the weekend, saying that an anti-Pelosi movement may lead to more conservative leadership rather than a vision for change.
Her endorsement Wednesday also comes after she joined a group of protestors in Pelosi’s office demanding increased congressional action on climate change shortly after the midterm election earlier this month.
Although many painted the demonstration as Democratic infighting, Pelosi said her office was “inspired” by the energy and activism of youth activists and advocates.
Ocasio-Cortez followed up her initial tweet endorsing Pelosi on Wednesday by explaining that while leadership should eventually evolve, it “should reflect an actual, evolved mission; namely, an increased commitment to the middle [and] working class electorate that put us here.”
She also stressed that issues such as voting rights, health care, wages and climate change are more important than party leadership.