House

Ocasio-Cortez accuses GOP of targeting female Democrats

by Justin Wise - 03/05/19 11:41 AM ET

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday accused Republicans of targeting female Democrats more than their male counterparts, arguing American society couldn’t deal with a woman being as powerful as a man.

The freshman lawmaker cited Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), head of the House Financial Services Committee, as being on the receiving end of disproportionate criticism compared to individuals like Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

“If you ever wonder why the GOP targets Pelosi more than Schumer, or Waters more than male committee chairs (despite having equal or similar positions of power) this is part of the reason why,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter, quoting a tweet that highlighted a statement she made about a woman’s position in society.

If you ever wonder why the GOP targets Pelosi more than Schumer, or Waters more than male committee chairs (despite having equal or similar positions of power) this is part of the reason why ⬇️ https://t.co/06TzuWtPnI

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez, who last year became the youngest woman elected to Congress, told The New Yorker that she is as “powerful as a man,” and that infuriates her GOP critics.

{mosads}”The idea that a woman can be as powerful as a man is something that our society can’t deal with. But I am as powerful as a man and it drives them crazy,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview published Monday, adding that she believes she sparks outrage from President Trump due to her background as a Latina.

“I can see Trump being enormously upset that a 29-year-old Latina, who is the daughter of a domestic worker, is helping to build the case to get his financial records,” she said. “I think that adds insult to injury to him.”

Ocasio-Cortez is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and has been outspoken about a range of progressive issues since being sworn in this year. She joined Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) last month in introducing their “Green New Deal” resolution, an initiative that calls for sweeping infrastructure investments to combat climate change.

Ocasio-Cortez has also weighed in on matters related to her Democratic colleagues. On Tuesday, she questioned why lawmakers were pushing to reprimand Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over statements condemned by some as being anti-Semitic.

“One of the things that is hurtful about the extent to which reprimand is sought of Ilhan is that no one seeks this level of reprimand when members make statements about Latinx + other communities (during the shutdown, a GOP member yelled ‘Go back to Puerto Rico!’ on the floor),” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.