Jose Andres offers Ocasio-Cortez a place to stay in DC

[babylonsister]

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/416002-jose-andres-offers-ocasio-cortez-a-place-to-stay-after-she-said?fbclid=IwAR1Pv7uPPPoeIgzjjBrWQ-3WqabFW2EgTT3kSj8tzoXQiQYsUmQWGKDWtVk

José Andrés offers Ocasio-Cortez a place to stay in DC
By Chris Mills Rodrigo - 11/09/18 04:35 PM EST


Celebrity chef José Andrés on Friday offered Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) a place to stay in Washington after she previously said she wouldn't be able to afford D.C. rent until her lawmaker salary kicks in.

Ocasio-Cortez originally made the comments about needing her congressional salary to afford a District apartment in an interview with The New York Times.

The progressive future lawmaker clarified on Twitter Thursday that her housing was being worked out, but noted that her struggle is one of "many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead."

Andrés, who was born in Spain, owns restaurants in multiple states and Washington, D.C. He was been politically vocal in recent years, criticizing President Trump frequently and endorsing Bill Nelson (D) in the Florida senate race.

Andrés's feud with Trump began during the 2016 campaign, when he backed out of a deal to open a restaurant in the then-GOP candidate's D.C. hotel over his heated rhetoric on immigration.

Ocasio-Cortez, who on Tuesday became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, gained national fame in June after her shocking Democratic primary victory over Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), a member of House leadership.

[EffieBlack]

1. She needs to be careful

I hope she clears this with the House Ethics Committee before accepting.

[Tom Rivers]

3. Yep, GOP will have anything and everything she does under a microscope

Faux and Fiends and the alt-right is scared shitless of a young woman of color and economic progressive making any type of change to their white supremacist utopia, she needs to be careful to avoid anything that can be viewed as an improper benefit.

IMO she'd be best served to try to make friends and become roommates with some of the fellow young progressives coming to Washington in January.

[Hortensis]

5. Yes, clear ethics as fast as possible, only then hustle to

join that table. The food must be fabulous, and the conversation and company also I imagine.

Link to tweet

[brush]

9. Yes. Clear this with the ethics office otherwise she just becomes everything...

she ran against—taking favors from the corporate establishment.

[Lucky Luciano]

2. Is it legal for her to accept such an offer? nt

[rzemanfl]

6. Repukes did it. They broke down a door on one. So much shit to remember. n/t

[LiberalFighter]

7. If she includes in her report and pays fair market value.

Possibly recuse from voting on anything involving him. Maybe

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Perhaps she could paint some of the rooms or perform light remodeling in lieu of some rent.

[LiberalFighter]

11. That might work.

[meow2u3]

4. Do House ethics standards apply to Congressfolk-elect before taking office?

[George II]

8. I don't think this is legal.

I don't understand why she can't afford an apartment in Washington - she recently sold a house in Westchester (not sure of the selling price) and owns outright an apartment in NYC (no mortgage) with her mother.

Her starting salary is $174,000 per year with an expense allowance of over $1 million per year. Surely she can get a short term loan from a DC bank for a few thousand bucks on a MONTHLY salary of $14,500! It's not like it's a shaky job with a possibility of losing it due to down sizing like most working class people have to be concerned with.

I wish I had such problems when I was 29 years old - I was struggling with an annual salary of $17,000 and rent of $340 per month. But I made it work without complaints, and I wasn't one of less than 500 members of congress tasked with running a country of 330 million people.

[allgood33]

12. None of us knows her financial liabilities. The cost of living in DC is as high as NYC.

She is being brutally honest. No need to pretend. She said she would be able to handle it once her salary kicked in. Affordable housing is going to be a top issue in the coming elections thanks to people like her.

[Blue_true]

13. George is right.

Given the job she is going into, she can get an anticipatory loan easily with documentation. She can pay the loan off over the first three months of work. Also, because she should be comfortable with the concept, she could rent in a downscale but coming up part of Washington DC

[crazycatlady]

14. Was the house in Westchester in her name?

IIRC she was born/raised there. I can tell you that nobody in their 20s (that is not a trust fund baby) can afford a house in Westchester anymore, and many long-time residents are leaving for a lower COL area.

I don't have a source, but I wonder if the house that was sold was her childhood home (aka not in her name).

Source-- I'm a 30 something that was born and raised in Westchester. The only people I know (friends, classmates, etc) who still live there live with their parents.