Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Criminal’ for McConnell to Shut Down Government Because He ‘Wants to Look like a Man’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Tuesday evening said it is “criminal” for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to shut down the government and block the paychecks of federal workers because “he wants to look like a man.”

Ocasio-Cortez went on Instagram Live and said, of the government shutdown, “frankly a lot of this is on McConnell” because “it’s not like they’re voting [appropriations bills] down.” She ripped McConnell for “blocking this whole process” and “sitting on appropriations bill after appropriations bills”

McConnell, saying that border security has taken “a back seat to the political whims of the far left,” has emphasized that he will not bring up “show votes” that do not “lead to an outcome” while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refuses to even negotiate with Trump on the border wall.

“To sit on millions of dollars and fly on private jets while you are blocking the paychecks of 800,000 people is just criminal and, honestly, I wouldn’t want that karma on my head because that is a horrible, horrible thing to do,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Later, Ocasio-Cortez said the government is shut down because “Mitch McConnell wants to look like a man or Trump has to look like a man.”

Ocasio-Cortez also wondered how Trump and McConnell have so much power.

“You have to question how these people have this much power to begin with because this is ridiculous,” she said.

The freshman Democrat said though she wants her Green New Deal, single-payer health care, and more criminal justice reform, she would “never told TSA workers’ paychecks hostage” for policies she wants.

Ocasio-Cortez also said that some Republican Senators are ready to re-open the government, echoing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) suggestion that some of the appropriations bills could receive a “veto-proof” majority in the Senate.