Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) plan to implement her far-left agenda hit a major roadblock on Thursday as she was passed over for an influential seat on the tax-writing committee where she planned on pushing her radical agenda.
The seat was previously held by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), whom Ocasio-Cortez upset in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
“Instead, the open downstate New York slot on the House Ways and Means Committee went to a moderate Democrat, Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, a former CPA, attorney and county executive,” the New York Post reported. “Ocasio-Cortez sought a spot on the committee — which is usually off limits to freshman reps — with the backing of progressive groups that pushed for a slate of fresh-faced candidates to earn posh assignments.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesman Corbin Trent said: “She hoped to be on it, but we’re excited to see what committees she does get.”
“The assignment, which lawmakers say they expect her to receive, would pit the 29-year-old New Yorker not only against banks that make up a major local industry but also potentially against business-friendly Democrats who have backed financial deregulation,” Politico noted. “It’s a fight that many of her supporters want her to lead. But it’s also one that could pose a dilemma for new Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) as she tries to keep Democrats aligned on committee business.”
Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO), a senior Financial Services Committee lawmaker, said of Ocasio-Cortez: “I don’t know enough about her to be able to determine if she’s going to be a good member or what. Time will tell, and this one term will tell us a lot about her abilities as a legislator.”
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