Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says Democrats are wasting “precious time” by negotiating with Congressional Republicans on legislation.
In a tweet on Wednesday, she said, “During the Obama admin, folks thought we’d have a 60 Dem majority for a while. It lasted 4 months. Dems are burning precious time & impact negotiating w/GOP who won’t even vote for a Jan 6 commission. McConnell’s plan is to run out the clock.”
“It’s a hustle. We need to move now,” she added.
During the Obama admin, folks thought we’d have a 60 Dem majority for a while. It lasted 4 months.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2021
Dems are burning precious time & impact negotiating w/GOP who won’t even vote for a Jan 6 commission. McConnell’s plan is to run out the clock.
It’s a hustle. We need to move now.
“Pres. Biden & Senate Dems should take a step back and ask themselves if playing patty-cake w GOP Senators is really worth the dismantling of people’s voting rights, setting the planet on fire, allowing massive corporations and the wealthy to not pay their fair share of taxes, etc.,” she said in a separate tweet.
Pres. Biden & Senate Dems should take a step back and ask themselves if playing patty-cake w GOP Senators is really worth the dismantling of people’s voting rights, setting the planet on fire, allowing massive corporations and the wealthy to not pay their fair share of taxes, etc
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2021
Her comments a day after President Joe Biden told Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) that he was ending negotiations with her on an infrastructure package, as IJR reported.
Additionally, Democrats are reportedly frustrated that moderate members of the Senate are trying to negotiate with their Republican colleagues on legislation with the goal of producing a bill that can meet the 60 vote threshold in the Senate.
The Senate is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, which means at least 10 Republicans would need to join Democrats in voting for legislation for it to pass the chamber.
Due to the filibuster, most legislation needs 60 votes to pass the chamber. Democrats could vote to eliminate the filibuster if all 50 of their members voted in favor of the move and Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.
However, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has repeatedly stated that he would not vote to get rid of the filibuster. He has also vowed to “seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult” on legislation. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has also said she would oppose the move.
Democrats can also pass certain legislation with just 51 votes through a process known as budget reconciliation. However, several Democratic senators have said they do not want to vote for a bill that does not have Republican support.
As CNN reports, Democrats fear that “They may squander their best opportunity to pass much of Biden’s agenda with their party controlling both chambers of Congress and their majority at stake in next year’s midterms. And with the prospects of passing legislation only bound to get more bleak as the next elections draw nearer, Democrats say now is the moment to jettison Republicans and try to get an infrastructure bill done along straight party lines.”
