New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed she and Arizona Republican Representative Paul Gosar discussed the possibility of Democrats and Republicans cutting a deal to secure the House speakership for former House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy amid opposition from the GOP's extremist faction.
Ocasio-Cortez addressed speculation about what she and Gosar spoke about after C-SPAN viewers were stunned to see the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist speaking to the far-right Gosar given he was once censured in the House for sharing an altered, animated video that depicted him killing her and threatening Democratic President Joe Biden.
The conversation between the two diametrically opposed politicians occurred on Tuesday, January 3, after McCarthy lost three separate rounds of voting for Speaker of the House due to what The New York Times referred to as a "right-wing rebellion" designed to block him from the speakership.
Later that evening, Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC's Alex Wagner that Gosar raised the topic of a potential deal and said "anything is possible" in the House of Representatives when there is no consensus, adding that Democrats remain rallied around her fellow New York Representative, Hakeem Jeffries, as Minority Leader.
You can hear what she said in the video below.
AOC Discusses Drama Surrounding Kevin McCarthy's Speakership Bid On MSNBC's Alex Wagner Tonight Showwww.youtube.com
Ocasio-Cortez said:
“I think in chaos anything is possible, especially in this era.” But she signaled that the possibility of a deal of any kind was not going to happen."
"Sometimes the leadership of your party ― in this case, the Republican Party ― will be making claims in order to try to twist arms and get people in line, and a lot of times, information and truth is currency.”
"So, sometimes, to be able to fact-check some of the claims that McCarthy is making, whether Democrats are going to defect or not, et cetera, is important in order to keep him honest and to keep people honest in general.”
“I think what was important today was to send the message we were united behind Hakeem Jeffries as the now-minority leader, or as leader of the Democrats, and that there would be no defections.”
As the House grapples with a Republican revolt that a defiant McCarthy has vowed will not compel him to drop his bid for the speakership, much of the country has borne witness to a deep dysfunction that has paralyzed the chamber's ability to govern.
McCarthy has since lost five more rounds of voting for a total of eight, a development that has forced him to make concessions with those who have vociferously opposed his candidacy and rejected former Republican President Donald Trump's calls for the GOP to back McCarthy or risk "embarrassing" themselves after securing the House majority following November's midterm elections.
The news Gosar had floated a potential deal to Ocasio-Cortez prompted many to observe that the GOP is "desperate" to bring an end to the stalemate in the House.
Many also praised Ocasio-Cortez, saying the conversation was an example of bipartisanship amid the chaos despite the pair's hostile history.
Ocasio-Cortez said she did not expect McCarthy to face such strong opposition and that Republican holdouts have demonstrated "the lack of faith" they have in McCarthy's speakership and his leadership overall.
Indeed, McCarthy garnered the Republican nomination to be House Speaker in November 2022, but the GOP's disappointing midterm elections performance forced him to "scramble much harder than anticipated to keep his caucus united and behind him," according to The Los Angeles Times.
Ocasio-Cortez stressed that by contrast Democrats are unified and have not seen "a single defection," which should secure "procedural wins" and allow them "to take advantage of certain moments."
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