House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tried to ‘put to bed’ the differences between her and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“In our caucus, we have our differences. Respect that instead of making a big issue of it. Respect that,” Pelosi told members of the press Friday. “Those are differences, and how we express ourselves as representatives of our districts is our responsibility.”
“I would never even say there was a hatchet [between us],” she added.
Those remarks came after a roughly 30-minute private meeting that morning in her Capitol building office with Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken freshman lawmaker whose more progressive ideology has clashed with Pelosi’s in recent months, tension that has recently boiled over into the public sphere.
“As speaker, I have to bring unity to our caucus. And to do so with the boldest common denominator in our caucus, I say to our members, ‘your job description and job title are one and the same: representatives’,” Pelosi continued. “And I consider myself a weaver, at the loom, just making all of those threads come together in the boldest possible way.”
Few details are known about the closed-door meeting. Pelosi declined to elaborate, only to say that the two discussed issues related to Ocasio-Cortez’s district and that they don’t “have that many differences.” She further said that she meets with members “all the time” and chided reporters for closely covering the matter.
“I wish you would be interested in [my meeting] from yesterday on money for community health centers,” Pelosi said.
Ocasio-Cortez, who said she was “looking forward to us continuing our work,” originally eluded reporters by slipping out of Pelosi’s office via a private exit.
“As always, I think that the speaker respects the fact that we’re coming together as a party with unity,” she later told reporters after a House Oversight Committee meeting.
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