Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) exploded at a Republican member during a House Oversight Committee hearing after he questioned a witness who repeatedly shouted while being questioned.
AOC harshly criticized Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) for his interactions with leftist green energy activist Raya Salter during her testimony on corporations and climate change.
“In the four years that I’ve sat on this committee, I have never seen members of Congress, Republican or Democrat, disrespect a witness in the way that I have seen them disrespect you today,” AOC pontificated. “I do not care what party they are in. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“And for the gentleman of Louisiana, and the comfort that he felt in yelling at you like that,” AOC claimed, “there’s more than one way to get a point across.”
“And, frankly, men who treat women like that in public, I fear how they treat them in private,” she concluded. “We can be better than this. We don’t have to resort to yelling.”
WATCH:
Rep @AOC (D-NY) goes after Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) for yelling at witness Raya Salter during a House Oversight hearing about the climate crisis:
"Men who treat women like that in public, I fear how they treat them in private. We can be better than this." pic.twitter.com/tZfTKoI29p
— The Recount (@therecount) September 15, 2022
A review of the exchange between Higgins and Salter shows that Salter was louder toward Higgins than he was to her as he repeatedly tried to get her to answer the questions he was asking.
Higgins asked Salter what she would do with products that she has that were created from petrochemical products.
Salter demanded to Higgins, “search your heart and understand why the EPA knows that toxic petrochemical facilities are some of the most toxic polluting facilities in the world and are killing black people throughout Louisiana.”
“My good lady, I’m trying to give you the floor, boo,” Higgins responded.
Higgins also called Salter a “young lady” a few times, which some online tried to suggest was being disrespectful.
Salter once again told Higgins to search his heart and “ask your God what you are doing to the black and poor people in Louisiana.”
Higgins said that Salter was “a lot of noise” but that she had “no answers” to the questions that he was asking.
WATCH:
Here's the heated exchange between Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Raya Salter, who is executive director of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center.
Higgins makes several demeaning remarks toward Salter, calling her "boo" and "young lady." pic.twitter.com/1zFZUdwAc4
— The Recount (@therecount) September 15, 2022
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