AOC muses ‘unprecedented’ coalition government could break GOP stalemate
Ryan King
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Progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) dangled the prospects of a “coalition government” breaking the GOP standstill in the House.
Without committing to backing a coalition, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that Kevin McCarthy, who is aspiring to be speaker, may be forced to negotiate with Democrats and pondered whether her party could claim Democratic chairs of committees in that hypothetical.
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“I do not believe that Kevin McCarthy has the votes. I believe that a lot of the opposition to him is very personal. I believe his leadership style is incompatible with a lot of Republican members and certainly the Democratic Caucus,” Ocasio-Cortez contended on MSNBC Tuesday.
Ocasio-Cortez underscored that she is “not saying necessarily that our party is signaling an openness just yet” but contended that “this is very much an unprecedented time.”
“It’s about the cards that are in McCarthy’s hands. And if he chooses to approach the Democratic Caucus, then that would be a negotiation, in and of itself, for a potential coalition government. But, again, this is very much an unprecedented time,” she continued.
McCarthy lost three rounds of floor votes Tuesday, with 202 Republicans in favor and a crew of 20 opposed on the third one, well below the 218-vote threshold needed to clinch the gavel. Neither side appears to be blinking as a bitter GOP civil war rages.
Ocasio-Cortez set social media abuzz Tuesday when she was caught on camera talking with GOP defectors Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ). She later revealed that the pair asked her if Democrats would help save McCarthy after he suggested they might during a GOP meeting, per the Intercept. Ocasio-Cortez told them that Democrats had no plans of saving him.
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Due to the GOP impasse, none of the newly elected members have been sworn in, and committee assignments have not become official. The House is poised to continue voting for speaker until someone clinches the gavel.
“If this goes on, and on, and on, and the Republican Party has no speaker nominee, something has got to give,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Instagram.
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Tuesday marked the first time a lawmaker has failed to win the speaker position in the first round of full House floor voting since 1923. House Majority Leader-elect Steve Scalise (R-LA) is widely considered a possible alternative to McCarthy.
Late last year, when it became clear that McCarthy faced an uphill battle for the speakership, some Democrats reportedly privately mused about cutting a deal with McCarthy or nominating a Republican alternative, such as former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).