Jeffries defends Democratic Caucus tweet slamming Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff

[brooklynite]

Politico

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jefffries on Tuesday stood by the tweet his leadership office sent calling out freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff for his Twitter attacks on a moderate freshman Democrat.

“The tweet speaks for itself,” Jeffries, a New York Democrat like Ocasio-Cortez, told reporters after a closed-door meeting of House Democrats, declining to elaborate on whether he personally sanctioned and supports the tweet.

Several Democratic lawmakers have privately told The Hill that Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, should be fired for tweeting that votes from freshman Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), a gay, Native American mixed-martial arts fighter, “enable a racist system” and that the large bloc of moderate Democrats are modern-day segregationists because they backed a Senate border-aid bill.

But Jeffries, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, declined to say whether he believed that Chakrabarti should be ousted, saying that is Ocasio-Cortez's or "AOC's" decision.

Both Ocasio-Cortez and Jeffries are in safe districts in NYC. One of them is moving up in Leadership. One of them is not.

[BeyondGeography]

1. One of them has a chance to be President someday

The other does not.

[dem4decades]

4. Which one?

[OKNancy]

2. I hate it when they describe Sharice Davids as...

a gay, Native American mixed-martial arts fighter and leave out a Cornell educated lawyer

[comradebillyboy]

3. Jeffries is quite right in his critique of Chakrabarti....

[Hortensis]

5. "Defend," Brooklynite? You know that's negative spin.

Chakrabarti's calling the Democratic caucus racist is indefensible, and Ocasio is being called on to fire him for cause. Jeffries is admired and respected and speaking for the vast majority of maligned Democrats from a position of righteous power.

Isn't it strange that we even know the name of her chief of staff? He's out of control.

Chakrabarti's current public attacks are just the latest offenses that have been causing Ocasio's colleagues to recommend she fire him. Her foolish attempt to defend his behavior by echoing his dishonest claims of Democratic racism was completely unacceptable and also indefensible. She may have felt she had no choice, but now she naturally wants to move on and not have to address this any more.

If her chief of staff keeps causing trouble, publicly or behind the scenes, though, and I think we should expect that, her colleagues may move to the step of not allowing their staffs to work with him, and even perhaps with other hostile JDers he's filled her staff with. That would be crippling to Ocasio, which I suspect is what Chakrabarti is up to -- creating a rift between her and the rest the Democratic caucus.

She's now a congressman, and I'm guessing he thinks her power is his -- if he can control her. And she's also raising vast sums of money that he can use to be a kingmaker -- if he can control her.

But fired, exiled from the center of her power, he's nothing. Except a potentially very dangerous enemy. We know he's developed good experience at spreading lies about people running for office.

And his hold on her power is what I suspect this is really about. Wouldn't it be great if Jeffries could tell us what he knows?

[Gothmog]

6. I agree with Congressman Jeffries on this issue

[melman]

7. relevant

Link to tweet

[JonLP24]

8. Trump makes racist statements talking them to go back to where they came from

And this is what you focus on? Pelosi has moved on.