Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Teams with Biden Campaign
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will co-chair a panel advising presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on climate change as his campaign looks to bridge the divide in the Democratic Party.
The New York Democrat will serve as one of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ representatives on the committee, which will be co-chaired by former Secretary of State John Kerry, NBC News reported.
“She made the decision with members of the Climate Justice community — and she will be fully accountable to them and the larger advocacy community during this process,” spokeswoman Lauren Hitt wrote in an email to reporters.
“She believes the movement will only be successful if we continue to apply pressure both inside and outside the system,” Hitt said.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she had accepted the nomination on Wednesday morning.
“I have always believed that real change happens not with a panel or task force, but in everyday people organizing mass movements to demand change,” she wrote.
“Yet we should also commit to showing up everywhere- every space where there are decisions &formative conversations – w/ mvmt voices.”
I have always believed that real change happens not with a panel or task force, but in everyday people organizing mass movements to demand change.
Yet we should also commit to showing up everywhere- every space where there are decisions &formative conversations – w/ mvmt voices.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 13, 2020
The climate change panel is just one of six “Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces” that have been created to try to unify the Democratic Party ahead of the general election in November.
The creation of these panels was announced when Sanders officially endorsed Biden for president, Politico reported.
The panels on climate change, education, health care, critical justice reform, the economy and immigration will all meet prior to the Democratic National Convention to shape Biden’s political agenda.
“A united party is key to defeating Donald Trump this November and moving our country forward through an unprecedented crisis,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday, according to NBC News.
“As we work toward our shared goal, it is especially critical that we not lose sight of the pressing issues facing Americans,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed and campaigned for Sanders, has not endorsed Biden, Fox News reported.
The New York congresswoman has said that the sexual assault allegation against Biden creates a “messy moment” that is “not clear cut.”
“There have been investigative journalists that have corroborated certain aspects of her account — that is undeniable — [and] have raised questions about other aspects of her account,” Ocasio-Cortez told NPR‘s “Morning Edition” on May 7.
“It certainly seems as though something has happened. I’m not sure,” she said. “Frankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that — that it is not clear cut.”
She added that people have been too quick to judge former Senate staffer Tara Reade because it is in a “hyper-politicized zone.”
“Instead of focusing on her account, instead of focusing on her story as a survivor, people are fast-forwarding to the political implications,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That denies justice in this situation.”
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