Jen Psaki blasted the ‘old guard’ of the Democrat Party for denying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the party’s lead on the House Oversight Committee.
Ocasio-Cortez was defeated by Gerry Connolly to chair the House Democrats on the panel.
Some in the party’s far left have argued that Ocasio-Cortez, 35, stood an opportunity to put a new generation of liberals in power, whereas Connolly is 74 and was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Psaki agreed, arguing on her MSNBC show that this was a ‘big opportunity’ missed for the party.
‘Democrats passed over one of the youngest, most media-savvy members of Congress for a key public leadership role,’ the former White House Press Secretarysaid of Ocasio-Cortez.
She praised former chair Jamie Raskin for ‘countering Republican misinformation’ within the committee and saying it had become a high profile position for Democrats.
‘This is one of the few committees in Congress that actually generates national attention or media coverage,’ she argued.
Psaki then expressed disappointment in Nancy Pelosi, who was a key backer for Connolly’s bid to become chair.
‘While I have deep, deep respect for Speaker Pelosi, and nothing against Congressman Connolly at all, this felt like an obvious chance to apply some of the lessons we should’ve learned from the November election,’ Psaki added.
Ocasio-Cortez pursued a leadership position on the committee, challenging more established and more senior Democrats who were expected to get the role.
She lost to Connolly (D-Va.) with the final vote from her Democratic colleagues at 131 to 84. Connolly was recently diagnosed with esophagus cancer, with plans to undergo chemotherapy to address it.
Ocasio-Cortez continues looking for ways to enhance her political profile, especially after Democrats lost the Senate, the House, and the presidency to President-elect Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans in the 2024 election.
Although in the minority, the position of the House Oversight Committee chairman is a prominent position for Democrats looking for ways to make a name for themselves by opposing Trump and hold him and his administration accountable.
But in Congress, seniority continues to reign, suggesting that the 35-year-old congresswoman will have to wait her turn.
Pelosi was among Democrats who opposed Ocasio-Cortez’s attempt to leapfrog over Connelly, as she made calls to fellow Democrats on his behalf.
Ocasio-Cortez reacted negatively after Trump won the presidency in November, warning her followers that the United States was entering a period of ‘fascism.’
‘We find ourselves I believe in a time where there are lets say peers in history of massive movements of people that mobilize to protect one another in times of fascism and authoritarianism. And this is the era that we are poised to enter,’ she told her followers on Instagram.
She later reflected on the fact that some of her supporters who voted for her also voted for Trump as president instead of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some of her followers admitted they voted for Trump because they believed that he actually cared about the working class and would bring change to the country as an anti-establishment figure.
‘I feel like Trump and you are both real,’ wrote one follower simply.
‘I feel that you both are outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less establishment,’ wrote another one of her followers.
‘Voted Trump, but I like you and Bernie,’ wrote another. I don’t trust either party establishment politicians.’
Trump earned 33 percent of voters in Ocasio-Cortez’s district, a shocking jump of eleven points from the 2020 presidential election.
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