Looks like Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have decided to bury the hatchet.
The dean of the House Democrats and the high-profile star of the party’s progressive wing met Friday behind closed doors to “clear the air,” as the Associated Press reports.
The meeting came about after the two have traded sharp words, culminating with the New York Democrat saying that the House Speaker had been “outright disrespectful” by downplaying the contributions of herself and three other freshman congresswoman of color, collectively known as “the Squad”: Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Pelosi and other more veteran members of the Democratic caucus defended Pelosi’s remarks that the Squad represented “just four” voices out of the dozens of Democrats in Congress.
But the dustup became overshadowed when Donald Trump launched a Twitter tirade this month against the Squad, basically telling them to “go back” where they came from if they were so unhappy with his policies and the direction he’s been taking the nation.
But on Friday, as the New York Times explains, Pelosi downplayed any differences with Ocasio-Cortez and, by extension, the Democrats’ more progressive arm.
“In a family you have your differences, but you’re still family,” Ms.Pelosi told reporters later. She acknowledged “some personality issues,” although she described them as “minor.” To underscore the point, she posted a photograph of herself and a smiling Ms. Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
Today, Congresswoman @RepAOC and I sat down to discuss working together to meet the needs of our districts and our country, fairness in our economy and diversity in our country. pic.twitter.com/eVp1LS0Gpw
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 26, 2019
Likewise, said Ocasio-Cortez, saying through a spokesman, per AP:
“It was a very positive and productive meeting about progressive priorities.”
With next year’s presidential race in full swing, Democrats are likely going to need to be as unified as possible if they’re to have a chance of unseating Trump.
