Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

GOP Rep. Scolded AOC To 'Educate' Herself On The House Floor–It Did Not End Well For Him

GOP Rep. Scolded AOC To 'Educate' Herself On The House Floor–It Did Not End Well For Him

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clapped back at Republican Rep. Duncan after he told her to 'educate' herself on natural gas.

South Carolina Republican Representative Jeff Duncan scolded New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to "educate" herself during a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives about oil and natural gas production on federal land.

And she was not having it.


Duncan supports increased use of fossil fuels and was this week named the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chairman on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which helps shape American energy policy.

So, it came as no surprise that he was angry with Ocasio-Cortez's opposition to increasing the country's reliance on fossil fuels—although his condescending attitude while speaking to his Democratic colleague was notable.

You can watch what happened in the video below.

Duncan urged AOC to "educate" herself on the impact of natural gas:

"Go and learn. Go ahead and learn about this. Educate yourself about how America obtained its low emissions. If you care about air quality, if you care about climate change, natural gas is what got America there."
"Educate yourself on that and we'll have a better debate about future resources, future energy production. But this debate tonight is not about any of that."

To which Ocasio-Cortez replied:

"I understand in this body [of Congress] it's not the first time that the opposing side can't seem to be able to debate the issue and so they must come after my character."
"While I cannot control the fact that the other side seems to have made the assumption that I am uneducated, one of the things that I can say or what they may say about my world view, one of the things I can say is that while I may not work for Wall Street, that is true."
"I may not be here with the mission to increase profits for corporations. That is true. My mission here is for the well-being and dignity of our family and our planet's future, for our children's ability to live on this planet. That is what this amendment is about."
"Moreover, [when] we talk about education, we should all take it upon ourselves in this body to educate ourselves on the science of the challenge of climate change that is before us."

Shortly afterward, Ocasio-Cortez shared video of her exchange with Duncan and tweeted:

"Fewer things are more predictable than Republicans having a meltdown when I’m clearing them in debate."

You can see her tweet below.

Ocasio-Cortez's response was met with praise online.



Ocasio-Cortez was responding to Duncan as the House considered a bill to require the federal government “to approve a plan to increase drilling on federal lands and waters” before drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in non-emergency cases.

She later said Duncan was angry with her for proposing an amendment to the legislation on the grounds that leasing more land to fossil fuel companies would not guarantee lower gas prices because companies making profits are not going to "pass along" savings to consumers.

Ocasio-Cortez said Duncan was responding in particular to her proposal, which would "prohibit oil and gas companies who engage in stock buybacks from leasing federal lands."

More from People/alexandria-ocasio-cortez

Lindsey Vonn; Breezy Johnson
Kevin Voigt/GettyImages; IOC via Getty Images

Lindsey Vonn's Olympic Teammate Defends Her Decision To Compete Despite Rupturing Her ACL

Olympic champion skier Lindsey Vonn suffered a terrifying setback with just one week left until the Milan Cortina Olympic Games: a ruptured ACL.

But Vonn has made the risky decision to compete in downhill skiing anyway, and her teammate Breezy Johnson is backing her up.

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Finneas Epically Defends Billie Eilish From 'Old White Men' Attacking Her Over Her Anti-ICE Grammys Speech

During Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast, several artists used their platform to promote social justice and human rights.

Among them was singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, who addressed atrocities committed by the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump through Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security via her Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kristi Noem
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Kristi Noem's Claim That Armed Protesters Aren't 'Peaceful' Gets Blistering Reaction From Pro-2nd Amendment Crowd

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing criticism from Second Amendment supporters after her claim following the murder of Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents that she "doesn't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign" caught their attention.

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—whom authorities said was permitted to carry but was not handling—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less
Melania Tump at event with Israeli hostages
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Melania Ripped After Using Event With Freed Israeli Hostages To Promote Her New Documentary

First Lady Melania Trump was criticized after she used an event at the White House with freed Israeli hostages to promote her new documentary Melania, which follows her in the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration following the 2024 presidential election.

Amazon MGM paid $40 million for the distribution rights and reportedly poured another $35 million into marketing. The film beat box office predictions to earn more than $7 million over the weekend but will need to generate much more box office to break even.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman staring out into the ocean
a woman standing on a beach looking out at the ocean
Photo by Cosiela Borta on Unsplash

People Divulge Which Things Scream 'This Person Is Insecure' Without Them Saying A Word

Be it our bodies, our clothes, our jobs, or our personalities, everyone has some insecurity.

Of course, some people's insecurities are easier to notice than others.

Keep ReadingShow less