Ocasio-Cortez Uses Government Shutdown To Threaten GOP Senators
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said New York state’s DREAM Act would extend green cards to illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children. The legislation actually provides state financial aid for illegal immigrant college students.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday that she believes Republican Senators should be “scared for their jobs in 2020” following the government shutdown.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is an avid Democrat and self-described socialist, said that she went to the Senate on Thursday with her colleagues to “witness who was voting against reopening the govmnt.”
“I watched them huddle & look around. They know this is on them,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her tweet.
“GOP Senators should be scared for their jobs in 2020 after voting to imperil so many others’ livelihoods now.”
I went to the Senate yesterday w/ my colleagues to witness who was voting against reopening govmnt.
I watched them huddle & look around. They know this is on them.
GOP Senators should be scared for their jobs in 2020 after voting to imperil so many others’ livelihoods now. https://t.co/tNZeZCyiWk
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 25, 2019
On Thursday, the Senate voted on dueling bills to reopen the government, neither of which had enough votes to pass.
The bills, which were brought on the 34th day of the partial government shutdown, were brought one each by Senate Democrats and Republicans.
The first bill rejected was the Republican plan to reopen the government through September and provide the $5.7 billion to President Donald Trump for the border wall, ABC13 reported.
The first bill failed with a 51-47 vote, nine short of the needed 60 votes.
The second bill was brought by Democrats and would have been a short term funding bill with no money for the wall.
The second bill failed with a 52-44 vote, which was eight votes short of the needed 60.
While Ocasio-Cortez harshly criticized Republicans who voted against a bill that she appears to have considered a viable option, the freshman congresswoman herself was the only Democrat to vote against a Wednesday funding bill.
The New York Post reported that the representative from Queens, New York, was the only Democrat to oppose the bill that would have reopened the government temporarily. She did so because it included funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Ocasio-Cortez vocally condemns.
“We were having conversations with our community after we voted for DHS (Department of Homeland Security) funding the first time,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Post after House votes.
“We’re hearing back a lot from our local community and they’re uncomfortable with any vote on funding for ICE.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents a district with a dense Latino population, tweeted the day after the Wednesday vote that, “While the White House drags us into the past by holding people hostage for a wall, New York is showing what a different future looks like by passing a statewide DREAM Act for NY families.”
While the White House drags us into the past by holding people hostage for a wall, New York is showing what a different future looks like by passing a statewide DREAM Act for NY families ⬇️ https://t.co/hWogdPjf2G
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 24, 2019
The tweet included an announcement about the New York DREAM Act, which provides state financial aid for college students who are illegal immigrants.
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