Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, on his Fighting Oligarchy tour Thursday, making stops in Nevada and Arizona. Similar to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is hosting town halls in red districts where Republicans are hiding from their constituents, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are rallying in swing state areas, highlighting how the GOP is actively undermining the working class.“Fox News and the right wing will have you believe that these American values are something out of the Communist Manifesto. That we believe these things because we went to college and read them in a book somewhere. I don't believe in health care, labor, and human dignity because I'm a Marxist. I believe it because I was a waitress,” Ocasio-Cortez said in Las Vegas.xxYouTube Video“Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security were promises that we as a people have made to each other about the kind of country we are and the kind of society we want to live in. And I don't know about you, Arizona, but I want to live in an America that guarantees health care to every person,” she said in Tempe, Arizona.xxYouTube Video The GOP’s proposed budget cuts instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion to cut from the federal government in order to pay for tax cuts for the rich. A significant portion of that money would come from Medicaid, threatening a purported 600,000 Arizonans.Sanders kept the focus on growing wealth inequality and the paradoxes of GOP politicians pleading poverty when it comes to social safety net programs.“We are not a poor country! There is no excuse in God's earth that people have to make a choice between food and the medicine they need to stay alive,” he said in Arizona.xxYouTube Video “One thing I love about Arizonans is that you all have shown that if a U.S. Senator isn't fighting hard enough for you, you're not afraid to replace her.” Ocasio-Cortez said, taking a jab at former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.xxYouTube VideoOcasio-Cortez, Sanders, and Walz aren’t afraid to face Republican constituents who have been neglected by their own party. You can help ensure that Daily Kos remains the paywall-free home for our shared fight for democracy and justice. Daily Kos is supported by readers like you. Can you chip in today?

Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders addressed thousands at their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour stops in Nevada and Arizona

'Beyond stupid'

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D) revealed some of her frustration with progressives who are criticizing mainstream Democrats for doing enough to oppose President Trump during a fiery town hall meeting, where she said that liberal colleagues such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have made a lot of noise about Trump [...]

There’s no greater evidence that "know-your-rights" training is working than from what Trump officials themselves have said.

Creepy Joe...

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett called for “younger, fresher” leadership within the Democratic Party following Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to back the Republican-authored bill to fund the federal government.xxYouTube VideoCrockett made her statement during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Crockett declined to endorse a possible primary of Schumer by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who criticized the actions of the Democratic leader.“I definitely think that younger, fresher leadership may be something that many of us—not just depending on what part of the spectrum you’re on—that many Americans may be looking for especially in the state of New York,” Crockett added.Schumer was the highest ranking of ten Democratic senators who voted for the legislation, which failed to include safeguards against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s ongoing attacks on the federal government. The legislation passed in the House with all but one member of the Democratic caucus voting against it and was later signed into law by Trump, who praised Schumer.The minority leader has been criticized in the days since his decision from across the ideological spectrum within the Democratic Party. Rep. James Clyburn, a moderate from South Carolina, said House Democrats were “blindsided” by Schumer for his decision. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to directly answer reporters who asked him if Schumer still had his support as Senate leader following the vote.House Minority Leader Hakeem JeffriesAn interview Schumer gave to The New York Times as part of a promotional tour for his upcoming book may have added fuel to the fire, with several comments making it clear that Schumer is out of touch with the sentiments of many Democrats across the nation.Democrats have struggled to find their footing since Trump won the election and the party has not unified around an approach to his second presidency. But Schumer told the Times that Democrats “have a real direction.”Similarly, while Republicans have demonstrated near-constant unity with Trump since he first became the party’s nominee in 2016, Schumer insisted that there is opposition—because of what he heard at the gym.“The Republicans would like to have some freedom from Trump, but they won’t until we bring him down in popularity. That happened with Bush in 2005. It happened with Trump in 2017. When it happens, I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will resume working with us,” Schumer said.“And I talk to them. One of the places is in the gym. When you’re on that bike in your shorts, panting away next to a Republican, a lot of the inhibitions come off.”Schumer also asserted that Republicans would work with him to oppose Trump if the president violates court rulings.The same weekend that Schumer’s comments were published, the Trump administration directly ignored federal court orders and essentially received no criticism from his fellow Republicans.On Monday, Schumer’s spokesperson announced that the senator had canceled several public appearances for his upcoming book, citing purported security concerns. Protesters incensed by Schumer’s decision to back Trump had publicized the tour stops.Recent opinion polling has shown voters souring on the Democratic Party. In a poll of battleground state voters released by Navigator Research, 72% said Democrats aren’t good at “getting things done, while a February Civiqs poll for Daily Kos showed that 21% of Democratic voters view their party unfavorably.Schumer siding with Trump and still holding out hope for Republican help is unlikely to improve those numbers.Campaign Action

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was named by 10% of respondents, compared to just 4% for President Barack Obama

Senator Schumer's book events are being rescheduled

The progressive duo will speak at Mullett Arena on Thursday evening. Here's what you should know before you go.

House Democrats are calling on their colleagues in the Senate to reject the GOP-passed spending bill—and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he’s got the votes to do just that.“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input—any input from congressional Democrats,” Schumer said Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House.”The Republican-led House caved to President Donald Trump and co-president Elon Musk Tuesday, passing a spending bill that would force $880 billion over 10 years in cuts from social safety net programs like Medicaid. The move is a naked attempt to extend GOP tax cuts for the rich at the expense of working-class Americans.While Republicans were able to pass the bill in the House with the vote of only one Democrat, it’s a different story in the Senate, where Republicans will need Democrats to help them. And so far, they’re not getting it. “They should refuse to allow this bill to pass in the Senate,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, warned her Senate counterparts on Tuesday. “If they don't, I think there's going to be a huge backlash from across the country. And I think, all of them will, you know, will have to deal with the consequences of that.”Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also clear in her feelings on the matter. “The Republicans have the White House, the Senate, and the House. If they want to do this, and if they want to screw over the American people, they can do this with their votes and their party. I do not believe that Democrats should participate.”xxYouTube Video“Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave,” wrote Ocasio-Cortez on her social media account, adding that voters should “Tell them: 1. Vote NO on Cloture AND 2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill. Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.”Maybe Schumer and his fellow Senate Democrats have been getting those calls from voters—and at least for now, they seem to be listening.Trump calls himself a king. But we know we are not a nation of kings—and we never will be. Get your Daily Kos T-shirt or hat to spread the message and wear it with pride: No Kings.

Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Robert Garcia, right, pictured here with Rep. Jamie Raskin in 2024, could get more face time in Republican attack ads.

At 83 years old, Bernie Sanders has emerged as an unlikely leader of the Democratic resistance to Donald Trump.

A formal House reprimand didn't contain the fallout from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupting President Trump’s speech to Congress, showing how petty fights and demands for retribution have become an increasingly prominent part of business on the House floor. The House Freedom Caucus is asking Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to hold a vote next week on [...]

Rep. Henry Cuellar, facing charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent, is on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “frontline list."

Newly elected DNC Chair Ken Martin has promised to review the party's existing contracts with consulting firms

Someone needs to take away the Dems' TikTok passwords, pronto.

Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, both members of the “Squad,” lost reelection bids in November after adopting strident anti-Israel positions after Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised a series of “Day 1” actions that would change the United States. Yet one month into his presidency, Trump is still working to fulfill the many goals that failed to materialize on his first day.Lowering food prices“When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1,” Trump repeatedly promised supporters. Many voters cited the price of gas and groceries as reasons they voted for Trump. Instead, grocery prices are up since Trump took office. Most notably, egg prices have hit a record high—which has been attributed to the spread of the H5N1 bird flu. Trump could make the problem even worse, because in his zeal to purge the federal workforce, his team got rid of the very employees tasked with developing the government’s response to the flu.Ending the Russia-Ukraine War in a dayDuring a 2023 CNN town hall, Trump said that he’d put an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine after a single day on the job. “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” he vowed.Trump has now been in office for more than 768 hours and the war has not ended. In fact, Trump has inflamed global tensions by lying and blaming the invasion on Ukraine while shilling for his longtime ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and shutting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of so-called peace talks. The Trump administration's fumbling response has generated global condemnation and significantly increased fears among Ukrainians of being overrun by Russia.Mass deportationTrump promised that his first day in office would kick off a mass deportation of immigrants, falsely characterizing undocumented people as part of a “crime wave.” To be sure, Trump is trying hard to get this done—but instead of hardened criminals, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents have been harassing families, military veterans, and Native Americans in a ham-handed attempt to meet arbitrary quotas.At the same time, Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan has been a fixture on Fox News and other outlets, whining about Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez using her position to inform the public of their constitutional rights in regards to immigration raids.Ending gender-affirming careInstead of defending trans children and their freedom to enjoy equal rights, Trump said he would stop hospitals from providing gender-affirming care. This is yet another area where he and his team are pushing to curtail freedom, but it didn’t happen on Day 1.Trump’s executive orders and mandates on the issue have instead ended up the subject of court challenges. Multiple federal judges have put temporary blocks in place against the Trump administration’s restrictions.Ending birthright citizenshipBirthright citizenship has been a part of constitutional tradition stemming from the end of slavery, with the 14th Amendment affirming that human beings who were put in bondage were in fact American citizens. Later Supreme Court decisions affirmed that children born in the United States are entitled to citizenship, but Trump is trying to end that as part of his xenophobic opposition to immigrants.The federal courts have put the brakes on this Day 1 dream after Democratic attorneys general in multiple states sued to prevent Trump from undermining this core American value. So far, courts in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have joined the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in blocking the Trump administration’s bigoted push.Destroying the Department of EducationTrump has called for the destruction of the Department of Education, which falls in line with his touting of the political support he has received from the “poorly educated.” He even nominated former WWE wrestling boss Linda McMahon to head the department to show just how little he values education. But despite attempts by oligarch Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency to siphon money from the department, it’s still around and counts as one more Day 1 failure.Trump’s first month in office has generated unprecedented chaos and enshrined bigotry and ignorance throughout the federal government. But the man who saw failure after failure during his first term in office hasn’t become a new person overnight.It still remains to be seen how much of Trump’s nightmarish vision will come to pass—but he didn’t get it done on “Day 1.”Campaign Action

Some Democratic senators are now publicly admitting that they made a serious mistake in voting to confirm several of the Cabinet secretaries who are now carrying out President Donald Trump’s destructive agenda.New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim told Migrant Insider this week that he regrets his vote for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and told the outlet he wouldn’t vote for any future Trump nominees.New Jersey Sen. Andy KimSen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said he regrets voting for Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. “Voting for Collins was a mistake, and I apologize to the veterans of the country,” he told reporters Wednesday“My one vote I cast for a member of the Trump Cabinet was for now-Secretary Rubio. I regret to say I regret that vote, because once installed in office, he is essentially abandoning the positions he took here as United States senator,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told CNN Feb. 12.The Democratic confessions come a month into Trump’s second term where the Cabinet secretaries in question, along with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, have run roughshod over the federal government. Key agencies and departments like the Department of Defense, USAID, the Treasury, the IRS, and the FAA have seen massive firings, systems disruptions, and a rollback of civil rights protections that were in place for decades.While Trump’s agenda has received an almost unanimous vote of support from his fellow Republicans, Democratic votes have helped to put a bipartisan stamp on the resulting disruption of American life. Trump nominees like Noem, Collins, and former MTV “Real World” star turned Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy all got to their positions with Democratic votes, either directly or through procedural votes.The biggest beneficiary of this bipartisanship was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose nomination sailed through 99-0 as senators voted en masse for one of their own.Since Trump took office, Democrats have been hearing complaints from their core voters that they are not doing enough to oppose him. Some Democratic leaders have reportedly held closed-door meetings and complained about the criticism.Recent opinion polling has reflected this dissatisfaction. In a SurveyUSA poll taken from Feb. 13 to 16, 41% of respondents said the party was “not standing up enough” to Trump.Democrats have been fumbling in trying to find the right rhetorical response to Trump. In the House, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has brought up concerns over consumer costs and the administration’s failure to address them while introducing inflationary tariffs, but the line of attack has not resonated.By contrast, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, has provoked the ire of the Trump administration by forcefully asserting immigrants’ rights in the face of attempted mass deportation raids. Jeffries reportedly plans to invite guests to Trump’s first congressional address that will rebut his actions and rhetoric.Combined with the Senate admissions, the party may be signaling it is pivoting toward more forceful opposition—a position that the general public seems ready for.Campaign Action

'Clear bias and prejudice'

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul met with New York City leaders Tuesday to discuss Mayor Eric Adams' future amid a federal push to dismiss his corruption case.

"Look in the mirror," the New York Democrat said in a post targeting the vice president.

Congress has one month to pass its spending bill or risk a government shutdown, and Democrats are hinting that they might take this opportunity to finally challenge President Donald Trump and reclaim some power.Because the GOP has the slimmest of majorities in the House, and at least a few Republicans are likely to jump ship, Speaker Mike Johnson will almost certainly need some Democratic votes to pass anything. And in the Senate, where such a bill will need 60 votes to avoid a filibuster, even if all Republicans support it, Senate Majority Leader John Thune will need Democratic support as well.This means that only a bipartisan deal can end up on Trump’s desk—and that’s how Democrats have a great opportunity to use the power they have, even in the minority. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, is joined by other Democrats during a protest at the Treasury Department.Last Sunday, Democratic Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey signaled that they are willing to band together to use a government shutdown to curb Trump, who has dismantled federal agencies and tried to enforce unconstitutional orders.“I would be the last person to want to get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal and until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that,” Kim said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press.”“We’re going to stand up against the kind of things that Donald Trump is doing that are hurting Americans, making us less safe and raising costs. We will look at every single tool in our toolbox,” Booker said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”If the government doesn’t pass its spending bill by the March 14 deadline, it will shut down. “Are Democrats willing to shut down the government over this gutting of federal agencies?” MSNBC host Ana Cabrera asked on her show “Ana Cabrera Reports.”“The issue is, are the Republicans going to shut down the government? I’m negotiating in good faith on the Appropriations Committee with my colleagues in the House and the Senate,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, replied.“We’re negotiating on that, but well, what we need to do is look at the assurances that, in fact, once we do come to an agreement that we will not have an interloper like Donald Trump or Elon Musk or, for that matter, the Speaker of the House saying the agreement’s off,” she added.Other leaders, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are focused less on a government shutdown and more on how they can leverage the limited power they do have through appropriations, litigation, and communications. This entails shielding official government documents from the likes of Trump’s co-President Elon Musk, holding up Trump’s unlawful actions in the courts, and getting creative with how Democrats reach voters.But Jeffries hasn’t entirely ruled out a shutdown.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, is seen in the House chamber.Earlier this month, in a 10-point letter to his Democratic colleagues, Jeffries "made clear to House Republican leadership" that "any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people ... must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner."Meanwhile, Democrats of different factions, from the Progressive Caucus to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have hinted at using their votes to reign in Trump and Musk’s gutting of federal agencies and executive overreach.Schumer sent a letter to his colleagues hinting at a shutdown on Monday.“Legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes, and Senate Democrats will use our votes to help steady the ship for the American people in these turbulent times. It is incumbent on responsible Republicans to get serious and work in a bipartisan fashion to avoid a Trump Shutdown,” he wrote.The next day, he took to the Senate floor to put the government shutdown onus on Trump and Musk.“Since the inauguration, unfortunately, President Trump and Republicans have been actively working to shut down the government entirely on their own. Democrats do not want to shut the government down. It’s the Republicans who are in charge, and it is their responsibility to avoid a shutdown,” he said. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also said that she won’t make it easy on the GOP—and other Democrats shouldn’t either. “It is the Republican majority's responsibility to gather the votes necessary for them to pass their agenda. I do not believe that Democrats should be helping,” she said.Democratic leaders like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Schumer joined a rally outside of the Treasury Department in response to Musk’s hostile takeover of the department and other agencies. They reiterated that their offices are fielding a staggering volume of calls from constituents asking them to do more to oppose Trump. Using a must-pass funding bill to force Trump’s hand provides the perfect opening for Democrats to do exactly that.Democrats diverted on whether they will actually go through with leveraging a potential shutdown to get what they need, but they seem to agree on one thing: Republicans are to blame. Republicans have put party over country in defending and enabling Trump and his oligarchy. Daily Kos won't let them forget it, and we won't stop fighting back. Support news you can do something about with a $5 donation today.

It’s been a busy few days for border czar Tom Homan. Fresh off of a spat with New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Homan was in New York City pronouncing [...]The post Homan Ends Live Interview by Letting Mayor Know What'll Happen If ICE Is Betrayed appeared first on The Western Journal.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee want to power AI with fossil fuels and nuclear energy — but divergent Democrats mean the panel might struggle to do much.Why it matters: AI's rise has prompted fears across the tech and energy industries about energy shortages and spikes in climate-warming emissions.Democrats on the powerful committee, such as Reps. Kathy Castor of Florida and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, would very much like to jump-start the AI revolution with zero-carbon power. But Republican members like Robert Latta and Troy Balderson of Ohio and Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota counter that coal, oil and natural gas are more than up to the task. The big picture: Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) sees AI as a marquee issue for Republicans — and for President Trump."If we don't control the platform, China will. And you can't do it without energy," he told Axios."Nuclear is baseload power with zero carbon, but we also have to look at natural gas; we have to look at coal."Driving the news: Latta will be central to this push from atop the panel's Energy Subcommittee.He tells us he's looking to discuss AI's power suck in a hearing in the next month or so: "That's massive for everything we'll be doing."That includes how and where the power needed for data centers is produced and how to build out the power lines to get it there. Zoom in: Energy and Commerce has undergone something of an energy policy brain drain in recent years with retirements and electoral churn. But Latta is an old hand on the committee and a longtime nuclear energy booster.Republicans added freshman Fedorchak — a former North Dakota utility regulator — to their roster this year.Also worth watching is Balderson, who introduced a bill last week that encapsulates what Republicans would like to do on this issue: Prioritize fossil fuels and nuclear over wind and solar for connection to the power grid.The other side: Democrats have little faith the committee can work in a bipartisan manner."There's so much chaos," energy subcommittee ranking member Castor said. "There are energy projects across the spectrum right now about to go under because of the halt on funding, and I'm not hearing anything from Republicans."When Democrats controlled the House, Castor chaired the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, which issued a 2020 plan calling for more investment in renewables. Between the lines: Still, Castor said nuclear, particularly advanced reactor technology, could be an area for collaboration.It's appealing because it's low-carbon and can produce power 24/7 — while wind and solar are dependent on the weather if not paired with battery storage.There's also broad agreement on one of the central concerns about the AI revolution: the cost to consumers.As Guthrie put it when discussing a massive Microsoft data center, "You're going to bring that onto a grid, and it's going to raise the price for everybody else — if we don't produce."What we're watching: Ocasio-Cortez is new on the committee and sits on the energy panel.Her vast social media platform — she has nearly 13 million followers on X, and her TikToks and Instagram live broadcasts are widely viewed — plus her high-profile Green New Deal efforts could make her a loud voice in the data-center debate."It's something, of course, that we're paying close attention to, particularly the efficiency of this sector," she told Axios.If you want to get smarter about what's happening on energy, technology or health care policy, subscribe to Axios Pro.

House Democratic Rep. John Larson says cause of pausing episode during House floor speech ruled to have been a complex partial seizure.

House Democrats are vowing to play hardball in the partisan battle over government spending, driving to extract steep concessions from Republicans who will need bipartisan buy-in to prevent a shutdown next month. Democratic leaders are warning that they won’t support a funding package that includes steep cuts to their favored programs. Others would go a [...]

Democrats, don't get waylaid by the right-wing loons, flapping their beaks and laughing maniacally. You do have new faces with smart politics, and several are young besides. Hand over the reins.

As Elon Musk takes a jackhammer to American institutions, Democrats seem frozen in confusion. That's in part because President Donald Trump serves as wingman, diverting attention from the sabotage of government services through a carpet-bombing of bizarre plans.

A post shared on Facebook claims Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) and Jamie Raskin (Maryland) have filed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his Jan. 6 pardons. Verdict: False Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Raskin have mentioned the claim via their respective websites and social media accounts. The claim appears to have originated via [...]

Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff for Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who recently launched a campaign against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was once pictured wearing a shirt that depicted a Nazi collaborator.

The president has a long history of controversial remarks about the opposite sex

Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been granted access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system containing personal data of millions of Americans receiving tax refunds, Medicare, Social Security and other payments from the federal government.How Did This $6 Trillion Agency Fall Under Musk’s Purview? According to the New York Times, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved the access late Friday, which coincided with the resignation of David Lebryk, a career Treasury official who clashed with DOGE over the system. The Bureau of Fiscal Service, normally run by civil servants, processes over $6 trillion annually.Democrats Are FuriousSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee sent a letter on Monday to Bessent demanding answers, calling Musk's "meddling” with a system that processes trillions in transactions "extraordinarily dangerous.""I am alarmed that as one of your first acts as Secretary, you appear to have handed over a ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

"This should not be a partisan issue," said the New York Democrat.

Getting 'pink-slipped' may soon take on a new meaning.

An air traffic controller was manning multiple positions at the time of the crash, per an FAA report

Faiz Shakir, former campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, is among eight candidates running to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. The longshot candidate, who only entered the race in mid-January, spoke with Daily Kos about his vision for the Democratic Party, which includes turning it into a more working-class-oriented grassroots organization.On Feb. 1, the DNC’s 448-person membership will choose a new leader. In addition to Shakir, the race includes former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler, and others. Daily Kos, which is not endorsing anyone in this race, has reached out to all candidates.This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

'Really going to look bad'

Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was wrong when criticizing Donald Trump over threatened tariffs against Colombia, but then had to admit on-air that the congresswoman’s comment was accurate.McEnany, who was a press secretary during Trump’s first administration, made the slipup during an episode of the conservative network’s “America’s Newsroom” program on Monday.The controversy began when Trump threatened Colombia with increased tariffs after its president, Gustavo Petro, said migrants being sent to that nation deserved to be treated with dignity. (Migrants had been restrained on a recent flight to Brazil.)Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York“To ‘punish’ Colombia, Trump is about to make every American pay even more for coffee. Remember: *WE* pay the tariffs, not Colombia,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to the threat. “Trump is all about making inflation WORSE for working class Americans, not better. He’s lining the pockets of himself and the billionaire class.”On Fox, McEnany responded, saying, “She said this, which is factually untrue.” Then McEnany paused mid-sentence and appeared to realize the congresswoman was in the right. “[Tariffs] could lead to inflation,” she admitted (without conceding Ocasio-Cortez’s argument was accurate).“There’s also a universe in which people lower their prices, other countries lower their prices, and the prices could come down because they want access to the U.S. market,” McEnany added, detailing an extremely unlikely response to a tariff increase.McEnany then pivoted to an unrelated (and out of nowhere) attack on Ocasio-Cortez, alleging that other Democrats who could possibly run for the presidency in 2028 have been more “muted” in their criticisms of Trump.xxYouTube VideoDespite the deflection, recent history backs up Ocasio-Cortez. Tariffs imposed by Trump when he was first president led to increased costs that have been passed on to consumers. A tariff isn’t a penalty shouldered by a foreign government; it’s instead paid by the people who use the product in question. In the case of Colombia, that would be staples like coffee, flowers, and petroleum.The factual misfire was just the latest episode Fox and the rest of conservative media lashing out at progressive leaders, like Ocasio-Cortez. But based on her track record since taking office, it is unlikely that complaints from Fox will deter the New York representative.Campaign Action

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., voiced her concerns about tariffs on Colombian imports that Trump has proposed, claiming they would hurt Americans.

The New York lawmaker was referencing the former president’s warning that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America" during his farewell speech.

Three Fox News hosts clashed on Sunday after one called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) a "smart Democrat."During a segment on Fox & Friends, host Charlie Hurt complimented the political awareness of Ocasio-Cortez."And smart Democrats realize that they have a real problem," he said. And I think one of those smart Democrats is AOC.""Wait a sec! Wait a sec!" co-host Jason Chaffetz exclaimed."I'm with Charlie on this," co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy interrupted. "I think you don't underestimate that woman!""Yeah, I think that we make fun of a lot of the stupid things she says. And she does say some stupid things," Hurt argued. "But she is a lot more in tune with where people are than you would think she was based on some of the stupid things she says."Hurt pointed to Ocasio-Cortez's warning that President Donald Trump was more dangerous than ever because he had become "normalized."Campos-Duffy pointed out that Trump was not treated like a "normal human" during his first term."And now they can't stop it," she said. "It's happened."ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife"AOC, in my opinion, is an idiot," Chaffetz quipped."Say what you will about her," Campos-Duffy replied. "She's, for a woman, especially who has a degree in economics, she's economically ignorant.""But she understands the culture," she added. "And that's why she's worried."Watch the video below from Fox News.

'So much more dangerous'

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York spoke with Jon Stewart on his podcast “The Weekly,” Thursday. In a sprawling interview the two talked about the billionaire oligarchy Donald Trump represents and the state of the Democratic Party.What makes Trump more dangerous this go-around, according to Ocasio-Cortez, is how much more he has been normalized by the elite class. Describing what we have been watching the past few weeks as a “billionaire feeding frenzy,” and “a kiss ass race,” AOC said that “the important thing for people to understand about this administration is that you’re being ripped off ... everybody is being ripped off.”Ocasio-Cortez was critical of the Democratic establishment’s reliance on clearly archaic social mores that are no longer effective, but warned against the nihilism inherent in rhetoric that both political parties are the same. “When you look at how, for example, Putin has operated in Russia and the way they've been able to kind of take things over in these oligarchies, these kleptocracies, they prey on that exact logic, on that exact predicate, which is that everyone's corrupt and is all corrupt. And so who gives a fuck?”She added that there are a lot of people in Congress trying to do good things, and people should demand that from their representatives. “When we decide to hold people to a higher standard, then things actually do get better.”Rep. Gerry ConnollyAOC was optimistic about positive change in the Democratic Party, saying that while she did not become the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, losing out on an intraparty vote to 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly, she was moved into a powerful position on energy and commerce.Shortly after the election, the congresswoman appealed directly to her constituents via social media to find out why some of them voted for both her and Trump. “They see two people that are fundamentally anti-establishment,” she told Stewart. “Two people that do not respect a rule if the rule does not lead to an outcome, like a positive outcome.”She added that as far as messaging goes, one of the shifts she’s seen is that people will believe a politician speaking directly to them. Unfortunately, that includes immigrants in her community who believed Trump when he claimed that only criminals would be harassed as a part of his immigration policy. However, with an ever-right-moving media, AOC said appealing directly to constituents offered Democrats a real shot at getting a message through.“If you ask a working-class American or just any normal American, what is a Democrat? What do they stand for?” Ocasio explained to Stewart. “They will not really be able to give you a clear answer. And so our party needs a clear and strong agenda.”“The stuff that's crazy to me is like, the answers are stuff, like, we're just asking for things that our parents and our grandparents had,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “Like, tuition-free public colleges and universities, not new, not new.” She also added an appeal to Medicare for All, and a platform that includes promises to Americans young and old.“There are very, very few swing seats left in America. Republicans and this whole system has been gerrymandered that the number of swing seats is so low,” AOC said of why she felt there needed to be more progressive candidates primarying less progressive ones across the country. “At the end of the day, people who are in Congress want to return to Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez explained. “And the reason that the Republicans have so much enforcement is because they're more scared of a primary than they are of a general election.”You can watch the whole interview below.xxYouTube VideoYou can help ensure that Daily Kos remains the paywall-free home for our shared fight for democracy and justice. Daily Kos is supported by readers like you. Can you chip in today?

“Everyone is being ripped off,” the Democrat said while criticizing the tastemakers and billionaires normalizing Trump and currying favor with him.

Progressives are focusing their messaging on being anti-oligarchy, training their sights not just on Republicans but also on Democrats they argue are too beholden to corporate interests. Following Inauguration Day, Democrats on the left have been taking steps to call out the surge of incoming wealth in Washington, critiquing the GOP president whose front row [...]

On Sunday, the social media platform thanked the incoming president while announcing it was back in the United States.