Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) during a Jan. 3 television appearance suggested the possibility of a “coalition government” between Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—the frontrunner in the race for speaker—and Democrats.
On Jan. 3, the House cast three ballots for speaker of the House with no result—the first time in more than 100 years that the vote for speaker has taken more than one ballot.
At time of publication, the 118th Congress has not been sworn-in, as this process comes after the speaker has been chosen.
Democrats were unanimously united behind their own pick for the top House spot, incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). In each of the three votes canvassed on Jan. 3, Jeffries won the support of all 212 members of his party.
The issue was on the GOP side: many conservative Republicans believe McCarthy is not the leader Republicans need following their disappointment in the midterms as they face down an otherwise united Democrat government under President Joe Biden.
In all three ballots cast during the first day of the new Congress, around 202 Republicans voted for McCarthy, while a handful of 20 defectors voted for other candidates like Reps.-elect Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
In the 2022 midterms, Republicans narrowly flipped the House, but Democrats also gained a new seat in the Senate, cementing their majority by a margin of 51 Democrats to 49 Republicans.
It is in this setting that Ocasio-Cortez was caught chatting with conservative Reps.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) during the contentious first sitting of the 118th Congress.
The conversation between the unlikely trio caught attention, as the New York leftist progressive has in the past clashed with both.
Ocasio-Cortez said that while she hadn’t expected McCarthy to pull through on the first ballot, she didn’t think the vote would be “as catastrophic for Kevin McCarthy as it was.” She opined that the results, coming after months of campaigning by McCarthy, were “a testament to a lack of leadership” by the California Republican.
Wagner then turned to Ocasio-Cortez’s conversation with Gaetz and Gosar, asking for an explanation of what the three discussed.
“Is there any hope that you guys would work together to get Hakeem Jeffries elected?” Wagner asked.
“In chaos, anything is possible,” Ocasio-Cortez replied, adding, “It’s unlikely but there’s always a possibility.”
Ocasio-Cortez then mused about the possibility further, suggesting that McCarthy could seek a coalition government of sorts by turning to Democrats to push him over the finish line.
While Democrats are “united behind Hakeem Jeffries,” Ocasio-Cortez said that if Republicans “want to play ball, we’re open to that.”
“If there are seven or eight people who are not going to vote for him, I’d advise him to go and look on the other side of the aisle and see whether there are some deals over there to be made as well,” Clyburn said during a December 2022 appearance on MSNBC.
“I don’t believe Kevin McCarthy has the votes,” Ocasio-Cortez added, saying that this raises a problem for Republicans, who she said don’t have a strong contender aside from McCarthy. “His leadership style is incompatible with a lot of Republican members and certainly with the Democratic caucus.”
The central question, Ocasio-Cortez said, is: “If not him, who?”
Wagner then asked Ocasio-Cortez whether McCarthy had made any exploratory gestures toward Democrats to win their support.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that such conversations had not taken place, but indicated that she thinks they could.
“Our party [isn’t] signaling openness just yet, but it’s really about the cards that are in McCarthy’s hands,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “If he chose to approach the Democratic caucus, that would be a negotiation in and of itself for a potential coalition government.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s discussion with Gosar raised eyebrows, as the two lawmakers have clashed personally in the past.
In November 2021, Gosar was censured by the Democrat-dominated House and stripped of his committee assignments after posting a video to Twitter that allegedly depicted Gosar killing Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joe Biden.
The video was an edit of the popular anime “Attack on Titan” series that portrayed Gosar slaying a “Titan”—giant human-eating monsters in the show—that was edited to have Ocasio-Cortez’s face.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the video at the time, calling Gosar “a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me.” She added, “he’ll face no consequences bc [Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] cheers him on with excuses.”
The House cannot conduct any other business until a speaker has been selected and sworn-in, including the swearing-in of other members. As the battle for speaker remains hotly-contested, it remains unclear when or how Republicans will move past the roadblock.
