Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be giving her supporters an earful of what they want to hear, but many are wondering if her words hold any personal weight.
There has apparently been no direct answer about whether the Democratic socialist will hold herself to the same standard she demanded of her colleagues nearly two weeks ago as the federal government faced a partial shutdown, the New York Post reported.
The freshman lawmaker from New York called for a furlough of congressional salaries over the shutdown, urging members of Congress to “have some integrity.”
“It’s completely unacceptable that members of Congress can force a government shutdown on partisan lines & then have Congressional salaries exempt from that decision,” she lashed out on Twitter ahead of the Christmas holiday.
When confronted by comments that her suggestion would only end up hurting middle and lower-income lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez fired back, “Speaking as a working class member-elect, I think that’s only fair.”
(Spoiler alert: most members of Congress are already wealthy!)
Speaking as a working class member-elect, I think it’s only fair.
It would also cause members who actually depend on their salary to think twice about leadership and take a shutdown vote more seriously. https://t.co/fSAcPAj0Xf
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 22, 2018
But her suggestion that the move would cause “members who actually depend on their salary” to take the decision on the shutdown “more seriously” appears to have come back to bite her. As some of her New York colleagues have announced they would forego their salaries until the government is back in full swing, Ocasio-Cortez has been noticeably silent.
Numerous attempts by the New York Post to reach her through her spokesperson for comment have gone unanswered, the publication noted.
According to the Post:
Right at the start of the shutdown, Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin and Elise Stefanik announced they had asked the House Chief Administrative Officer to withhold their checks. They were joined by Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who said he was doing it in solidarity with New York’s 14,000 federal employees.
Rep.-elect Max Rose (D-N.Y.), who will be sworn in alongside Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday, announced Monday he would donate his pay to a local charity.
“This shutdown is an insult to Americans who work their heart out every day because, unlike congress, they can’t afford to act like children,” Rose declared.
But there has been no similar action from Ocasio-Cortez.
Right after the November election, the 29-year-old who would soon be receiving a $174,000-a-year salary was already complaining about how she was going to afford to pay for an apartment in Washington, D.C.
Ocasio-Cortez says she can’t afford DC apartment, but deep dive on finance records suggests otherwise https://t.co/jyJeJAz27L pic.twitter.com/hIz5JnkvPi
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) November 13, 2018
A report by CNBC in November noted that the youngest woman ever elected to Congress was also down to under $7,000 in personal savings.
Twitter users weighed in on the congresswoman’s words versus her actions.
Now we know what it takes to shut her up: ask her to walk the walk.
— Jack Bellicec (@JBellicec) January 1, 2019
I would think that it would be quite hypocritical if she did take her salary during the shutdown after her loud public virtue signaling posturing…
— Timothy Kerby ?? (@TimothyKerby) December 31, 2018
You know she is. How can she afford to live if the taxpayers aren’t paying for her apartment in DC.
— Ben ?? ?️? ?? (@ben_techpro) December 31, 2018
— Koda Waters (@waters_koda) January 1, 2019
@AOC Why haven’t u announced u hypocrite? #GFY Why don’t u donate your salary to Venezuela? Ocasio-Cortez won’t say if she’s taking a salary during shutdown https://t.co/Pe8QAVBfoV via @nypost
— ATP ?? ? ❌ (@bpol10snyc) January 1, 2019
Will you be taking a salary during the shutdown? Or is practicing what you preach “too controversial”?
— Al (@Whatnownepal) December 31, 2018
She can always bartend
— NoBama (@NoBongo) January 1, 2019
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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