Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday said she can find bipartisanship in Congress — at least on composting or legalizing marijuana.
On bigger issues such as loosening immigration laws, however, she told constituents at a town hall meeting that Democrats should use the so-called nuclear option to blow up the Senate’s filibuster rules if necessary to ram through liberal priorities without Republican votes.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat and leader of the far-left “Squad,” said there is a narrow band of issues where she finds common ground with her GOP colleagues.
“I think some Republicans do have some degree of openness around marijuana,” she said. “I have talked to Republicans about composting laws.”
Such kumbaya moments have been rare.
Two weeks ago, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez called Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “deeply unwell” and “out of control” after Ms. Greene accosted her outside the House chamber and demanding a debate over the Green New Deal.
On issues other than marijuana and composting, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said compromise is hard to find. “There is such dedication and locksteppedness with Trump, it has made working with the Republican Party very difficult,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said.
She cited opposition by Republicans to creating an independent commission to examine the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Democrats said that they agreed to allow Republicans to have an equal number of seats on the commission even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, originally wanted to stack the body with members of her party.
That Republicans still oppose the proposal is a disincentive for Democrats to “water down” legislation to try to get bipartisan support,” said Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. “We might as well pass 100% of what we want.”
• Kery Murakami can be reached at kmurakami@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.