With the federal government edging closer to a shutdown, Democrats are demanding an extension of key health care subsidies as part of any funding agreement. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has been preparing for mass layoffs to maximize the disruption, framing the potential standoff as a political battle.
Amid this clash, Republicans have promoted the idea that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is at the center of the dispute. They argue that her influence has paralyzed Senate Democrats, preventing a deal.
On Tuesday night, Ocasio-Cortez responded during an appearance on MSNBC’s All In. She rejected the claims outright and challenged her critics to confront her directly if they truly believe she is the cause.
“There are some people I have seen who have the following theory of why Senate Democrats have not cut a deal where they give eight votes and, you know, move along,” host Chris Hayes said. “And that is that [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer is worried about a primary challenge from you and is worried about the politics to his left flank.
And so, because of that worry about a primary challenge, he’s going to shut down the government. Ergo, it is AOC’s fault that the government is shutting down or that you’re, that you’re somehow the fulcrum of this.” “I want to just ask you straight-up: like, are you planning to primary challenge him? Do you think that’s why he’s doing this?” Hayes asked.
“This is so not about me in this moment,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “This is about people being able to insure their children. And I will say, because I saw some senators speculating about this, and I saw some Republican members of Congress saying, ‘Oh, well, if we have this shutdown, it’s because of AOC.’
Well, if that’s the case, my office is open, and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly, because what I’m not going to do is tolerate 4 million uninsured Americans, because Donald Trump decided one day that he wants to just make sure that kids are dying because they don’t have access to insurance. That’s what’s not going to happen.”
She went further, emphasizing that her position is grounded in protecting access to care. “And so if those senators think that we’re having a shutdown because of me, they’re free to enter my office and negotiate, because what we’re not going to do is allow all of millions of people in this country to not be able to afford their insulin and their chemotherapy,” she said. “So come strike a deal with me, if that’s what they really think is going on.”
As the deadline looms, the fight over funding has become as much about political narratives as policy. For Ocasio-Cortez, the suggestion that she is the root cause of a government shutdown appears to be one narrative she is determined to confront head-on.