put differences aside? AOC speaks to Republican Rep. Paul Gosar – a year after he posted an anime video in which she was killed and punished by Congress
- Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Rep. Paul Gosar were caught chatting in the House chamber on Tuesday
- The eyebrow-raising conversation comes 14 months after the Arizona Republican was censored for sharing an anime video of him killing her
- Talking Point’s memo reported that Gosar wanted to know from AOC if the Democrats would bail out Rep. Kevin McCarthy
- Gosar is part of the gang of rogue Republicans trying to quash McCarthy’s bid for speaker
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Rep. Paul Gosar were caught chatting in the House chambers on Tuesday, 14 months after the Arizona Republican was reprimanded for sharing an anime video of him killing her .
The left-wing New Yorker and right-wing Arizonan sat side by side and engaged in animated conversation for several minutes amid Tuesday afternoon’s drama over who would become the next House Speaker.
Talking Point’s memo reported that Gosar — one of the Republican rebels who tried to take down Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s spokesman’s bid — wanted to know from AOC if Democrats would walk away to give the California GOP leader help.
To be elected Speaker, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast by the members present. If all members vote, the magic number is 218.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Rep. Paul Gosar were caught chatting in the House chambers on Tuesday, 14 months after the Arizona Republican was reprimanded for sharing an anime video of him killing her
After the picture of the two started chatting, Gosar tweeted a caption accompanying it: “So then I say, ‘The internal combustion engine was actually a marvel of engineering that people now take for granted…'” he wrote
Rep. Paul Gosar was censored in November 2021 for sharing an anime video showing the Arizona Republican killing AOC, one of the most liberal members of Congress
However, members can vote “present” rather than for a specific candidate, lowering the threshold it would take McCarthy to advance to the role.
“Gosar heard from McCarthy that McCarthy could make Dems leave [and] This will reduce the number of votes required,” a source told TPM. ‘She said no, it wasn’t that [true].’
After the picture of Gosar and Ocasio-Cortez went viral, Gosar tweeted a caption: “So then I say, ‘The internal combustion engine was actually a marvel of engineering that people now take for granted…'” he wrote.
The Intercept reported Tuesday that Rep. Matt Gaetz, another rogue Republican, made a similar request to AOC.
“McCarthy suggested getting Dems to walk away to lower the threshold,” Ocasio-Cortez told the publication. ‘And I checked the fact and said, absolutely not.’
During Tuesday afternoon’s speech drama, Democrats remained a solid bloc in support of New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the agreed Democratic replacement for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But all afternoon, a group of rogue Republicans cast votes for other candidates — chiefly Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who, under McCarthy, was set to become chairman of the House’s powerful Judiciary Committee.
AOC told The Intercept that it checked with the Democratic Party leadership and found that there were no plans for a group of Democrats to vote “present” to help McCarthy.
Earlier, Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar tore McCarthy up during his first nomination speech of the day for Jeffries.
“He doesn’t trade in extremism. He’s not cringing or apologizing for a twice-impeachable former president,” Aguilar said. “He does not bend the knee to anyone who wants to undermine our democracy.”
McCarthy has remained in the MAGA group for the most part — he condemned former President Donald Trump right after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but snuggled back up to him in the months that followed.
But that still hasn’t helped him with some of MAGA’s most loyal, including Gaetz, Gosar and Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the House adjourned for the day, with the Speakership issue remaining unsettled.