House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will meet Friday after the freshman congresswoman reached out presumably to smooth out some tensions lingering from a few weeks ago.
According to USA Today, Pelosi has tried to both downplay and express positivity about the meeting.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Pelosi said. “I have a steady stream of members coming through my office and I’ll look forward to her visit as well.”
Ocasio-Cortez struck a similar tone, saying that “It’s nothing too climactic — just trying to make sure we have an open line of communication and get on the same page.”
A few weeks ago, the two exchanged jabs through the press after Ocasio-Cortez — and the other members of the squad — publicly broke with House leadership on border legislation.
The caucus has become more unified since then, coalescing around the four congresswomen — especially Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — after President Donald Trump launched racist attacks against them. Pelosi called them “our sisters” while urging her members to rally behind the squad.
Pelosi tweeted out a picture of the two after the meeting:
Today, Congresswoman @RepAOC and I sat down to discuss working together to meet the needs of our districts and our country, fairness in our economy and diversity in our country. pic.twitter.com/eVp1LS0Gpw
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 26, 2019
Nice for optics but I don’t think anyone expects anything substantive.
Pelosi, the Queen of the Donor Class, is going to learn that AOC is one member she can’t buy.
And that is why Pelosi can’t stand her.
There’s such a focus on this relationship between AOC and Pelosi. Could the perceived animosity have something to do with stereotypes of how women work together? Nah. Not in 2019, surely
best place to sit your enemies is right in front of you on the other side of your desk.
Tents and micturition come to mind.