Democrats dished on their fellow colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after she announced she would not be paying dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“Sometimes the question comes: ‘Do you want to be in a majority, or do you want to be in the minority?'” Rep. Gregory Meeks told Fox News on Friday about the congresswoman’s decision. “And do you want to be part of a team?”
Ocasio-Cortez, 30, said she had a “myriad of reasons” for refusing to pay her dues. “One, I don’t agree with the policy around blacklisting groups that help progressive candidates,” the New York Democrats said in reference to the group’s policy to only work with groups that help incumbents.
The freshman congresswoman brought in $1.4 million in her most recent federal filing, and dues for members are about $250,000. “We are trying to raise the equivalent of my dues directly to other members,” she said. Her decision has caused fury among some of her fellow House members.
“Deadbeat Cortez should pay her bills,” another Democrat said in response to the freshman congresswoman’s decision. “She’s always whining about people paying their fair share, and here she is leaving her friends with the bill.”
“Hopefully, we will start to get away from this circular firing squad,” Rep. Henry Cuellar said. Ocasio-Cortez has given $35,000 to his Democratic challenger in Texas. DCCC records mark Cuellar as having paid his dues.
Cheri Bustos, the chairwoman of the DCCC, said the group was “raising record amounts of money” even without the support of Ocasio-Cortez. “That’s always up to individual members, so I guess I don’t think about it one way or another,” Bustos added.
Ocasio-Cortez and Justice Democrats, the PAC responsible for helping her win her election, have had a long-held feud with the DCCC. In March, she recommended that people not donate to the group and instead give directly to candidates. Justice Democrats also made a “DCCC blacklist,” which banned political vendors who worked with the PAC from getting DCCC contracts.
