It was an ugly scene at the Capitol.
Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used to be the best of allies.
But everything changed after they got into a nasty fight.
For a long time, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was assumed to be one of Nancy Pelosi’s most important allies in Congress.
When she was first elected, and even before taking office, Ocasio-Cortez was quoted as saying that Pelosi “can count on my support” for Speaker.
Since then, they have aligned together on a number of important issues.
But it turns out, there were major issues between Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez going on behind the scenes.
And it may even extend to other members of the left-wing “Squad.”
Now one book reveals all the ugly details of the bitter political fight between Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez.
According to Business Insider, “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may both be Democrats, but that doesn’t mean the two have always agreed.”
“A new Guardian report on a forthcoming book about ‘The Squad’ from Ryan Grim, a reporter, offers further details on their relationship — including the generational gaps and strategic differences that shone through in phone calls and meetings between Pelosi and the New York Democrat over the last several years.”
“The book says Pelosi ‘spoke for nearly the entire lunch’ when the two first met in San Francisco in July 2018, shortly after her upset primary victory against Rep. Joe Crowley.”
“Pelosi fretted at that meeting that the slogan ‘Abolish ICE’ had been ‘injected into American political discourse by the Russians,’ the book says, leading Ocasio-Cortez and her team to avoid calls and meetings the next time Pelosi was in New York.”
It’s clear a lot of ego was involved here. Pelosi wanted to be treated with the seniority she had earned, while Ocasio-Cortez wanted to be treated like a rising star who could do no wrong.
The article continues, “Ocasio-Cortez also indicated that her life in Congress had been much better since Pelosi stepped down from leadership at the end of the previous Congress, leading to the ascent of fellow New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.”
Apparently Jeffries is much more friendly to the radical left-wing fringe of his caucus, which indicates he might identify with them politically more than Pelosi did.
Ocasio-Cortez certainly seems to think she’s found a much better ally in Jeffries.
Pelosi is still serving in Congress, which means tensions between her and Ocasio-Cortez could erupt again at any time.
And the Democrat Party leaders have to be nervous about the possibility of two of their most high-profile members going at it in the public square.