Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blamed Sen. Ted Cruz for the attack on the U.S. Capitol that resulted in four deaths, demanding that he and Sen. Josh Hawley resign from the Senate.
“Sen. Cruz, you must accept responsibility for how your craven, self-serving actions contributed to the deaths of four people yesterday. And how you fundraised off this riot,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “Both you and Senator Hawley must resign. If you do not, the Senate should move for your expulsion.”
Sen. Cruz, you must accept responsibility for how your craven, self-serving actions contributed to the deaths of four people yesterday. And how you fundraised off this riot.
Both you and Senator Hawley must resign. If you do not, the Senate should move for your expulsion. https://t.co/O2m6T59LYP
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 7, 2021
The New York Democrat’s comments came in response to Cruz’s tweet condemning the attack at the Capitol and calling on the nation to come together.
“The attack at the Capitol was a despicable act of terrorism and a shocking assault on our democratic system,” Cruz said. “We must come together and put this anger and division behind us. We must, and I am confident we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power.”
Cruz and Hawley led a Republican effort to object to certifying the Electoral College results in key battleground states, citing concerns over accusations of fraud and voting irregularities during the 2020 presidential election.
Despite the attack on the Capitol, an attached statement to his tweet indicated Cruz stood by his decision to object to certification.
“Millions of Americans who have peacefully expressed their deep concerns regarding election integrity deserve to have their voices heard,” Cruz said. “It was the right thing to do. I very much wish Congress had not set aside these concerns, but I respect the position each of my colleagues took.”
Cruz went on to say that it was now lawmakers’ “constitutional responsibility to complete the Electoral College certification process” and that he was “confident” that there would be a “peaceful and orderly transition of power.”
The joint session of Congress had just broken off into individual sessions to debate the certification of Arizona’s electors, which Republicans had objected to during the joint session.
The process was halted when a crowd of Trump supporters made their way from a rally near the White House to Capitol Hill, with thousands eventually breaching the Capitol building and forcing the evacuation of lawmakers.
The ensuing chaos led to the fatal shooting of one protester, identified as 35-year-old Ashli Elizabeth Babbitt, and three other deaths that police attributed to “medical emergencies.”
