'Irresponsible': AOC blasts Matt Gaetz after he deemed the debt limit debacle a 'hostage' negotiation

26 May 2023

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Calif.) recently took aim at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after he insisted that the Republican Party is handling the rapidly approaching debt limit as a "hostage" negotiation.

According to TruthOut, Gaetz's remarks came on Tuesday, May 23 during an interview with Semafor.

"I think my conservative colleagues for the most part support Limit, Save, Grow, and they don’t feel like we should negotiate with our hostage," he said, Semafor reports.

Following the interview, Ocasio-Cortez weighed in with her reaction. During an appearance on CNN, the progressive lawmaker did not mince words when she offered her take on Gaetz's remarks.

"Even President Trump said during his administration that using the debt limit as a leverage point or negotiating tool is absolutely ludicrous and unacceptable, because the stakes are simply too high," Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN.

She added, "To hold the entire U.S. economy hostage, particularly if the Republican evaluation is a cynical one, saying 'if we tank the economy, we'll expect people to blame the president,' is reckless, it's irresponsible."

Ocasio-Cortez continued, "The stakes of a default cannot be understated. The chaos that would ensue, and the impact on people's everyday lives would likely be immediate. And it is one of the reasons we need to take default off of the table and have Republicans agree to raise the debt limit.”

The Democratic lawmaker went on to slam Republicans for their failure to actually conduct formal negotiations.

"For all of this talk about negotiations, Republicans are not negotiating at all," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Republican Matt Gaetz expressed in a party meeting today that this is, in fact, a hostage situation. And I want to be clear about what the Republican Party is taking hostage. It is not Democrats. It is the entire U.S. economy."

Watch the video below or at this link.

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