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

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less