Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats need new leadership in Congress
WASHINGTON – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the Democratic Party needs new leadership during an interview that aired Wednesday.
During a new podcast with The Intercept, Ocasio-Cortez said "I mean, I think so," when asked directly whether it’s time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to be replaced.
Ocasio-Cortez, who hasn't been shy in criticizing members of her own party, hit the Democratic leadership with one of her most direct criticisms in the interview.
She also said Democrats have failed to create a succession plan for when older leaders like Pelosi and Schumer do step aside.
Schumer, 70, was re-elected as leader of the Democrats in the Senate last month.
Pelosi, 80, recently indicated this upcoming two-year term will be her last as Speaker if she wins the Speaker's gavel on Jan. 3rd. House Democrats have already nominated her to serve as Speaker next year.
Ocasio-Cortez said the party has not "groom[ed] the next generation of leadership."
"A lot of this is not just about these two personalities," she said of Pelosi and Schumer, "but also the structural shifts that these two personalities have led in their time in leadership. The structural shifts of power in the House, both in process and rule, to concentrate power in party leadership of both parties, frankly, but in the Democratic Party leadership to such a degree that an individual member has far less power than they did 30, 40, 50 years ago."
That setup, Ocasio-Cortez continued, drives "really talented members of Congress that do come along" to pursue other opportunities.
The House Democratic Caucus will likely continue to be governed by the same leadership as it has been for more than a decade: Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn. All are in their eighties.
"The internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there is very little option for succession," Ocasio-Cortez stated.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/16/aoc-calls-pelosi-and-schumer-replaced/3932396001/
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