Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cast her vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House today, despite her purported ultra-leftist leanings.
Nancy Pelosi officially becomes Speaker of the House
Earlier today, Nancy Pelosi officially became the Speaker of the House, winning the support of an overwhelming majority of Democrats. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Nominated for Speakership After Saying Trump Impeachment Not Off the Table) She invited a whole host of Democratic members to join her as she took the official oath:
Nancy Pelosi invites the children of Congress to join her as she takes the oath of office. pic.twitter.com/HrVCJzEz6N
— Axios (@axios) January 3, 2019
Wait wait wait… those are children you say? Funny, I can hardly tell the difference between them and normal Democrat lawmakers.
Ocasio-Cortez votes for Pelosi
Speaking of children, everyone’s favorite democratic socialist who isn’t a septuagenarian crank actually marched in lockstep with the Democratic establishment, choosing to cast her vote for Pelosi.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir earlier this week when she joined another progress rep-elect in opposing a particular House rule that could be used to kneecap President Trump if he attempts to use Congress-approved funds to pay for anything not specifically designated by law. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Calls for Vote on PayGo, Socialists Outraged)
Many observers took Ocasio-Cortez’s position to mean that she’d stand apart from the Democratic establishment, and not go along with what Pelosi and other members of leadership want.
But, in the end, Ocasio-Cortez ended up using her position of prominence to toe the line: she voted for Pelosi, essentially signing on to whatever Democratic leadership pushes for the next two years. Her vote reportedly sparked murmurs throughout the House:
AOC votes for Pelosi, prompting some murmurs in the House
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 3, 2019
.@AOC votes for Pelosi, generating cheers from the left and boos from the right pic.twitter.com/mgJ0NB7R1n
— jordan (@JordanUhl) January 3, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez does Trump’s bidding
While Rep. Ocasio-Cortez let down her fans who were hoping for a more progressive Speaker, she also did something she probably wasn’t expecting: backed President Trump’s preferred candidate.
Back in November, Trump actually “endorsed” Pelosi for Speaker:
In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats. If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
Trump backed Pelosi because he views her as a malleable political figure who is willing to cut deals and not stand firm on progressive principles.
It’s strange that Ocasio-Cortez, for her first act in Congress, voted for the Speaker that President Trump wanted.
They don’t make democratic socialists quite like they used to.
