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Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are perhaps the two most well-known Democratic members of Congress. Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, they are arguably the most well-known Democratic women in Washington.
Their legacies are in many ways intertwined. Ocasio-Cortez came to Washington after she knocked off House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley, an ally of Pelosi’s who was seen as a potential successor to her. Pelosi is the daughter of former Baltimore Mayor Tommy D’Alesandro.
On the surface, Pelosi should have a lot in common with Biden, her fellow octagenarian Catholic from a bygone era. AOC, on the other hand, should not. Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 campaign was inspired by Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential run, and her endorsement of Sanders in 2019 gave his second run the shot in the arm that it needed. She and her colleagues in the progressive Squad sought to upend the way Democrats conducted politics.
But since Democrats have split on whether President Joe Biden should step aside after his debacle of a debate performance, the two have taken divergent approaches. Ocasio-Cortez has firmly stood behind Biden despite his performance. Pelosi is the one who’s been more equivocal.
Last week, Pelosi said on MSNBC that “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’” about Joe Biden’s poor performance in the debate, before adding, “When people ask that question it’s completely legitimate — of both candidates.”
When Politico’s Jonathan Lemire asked her point-blank on MSNBC on Wednesday if Biden should step aside, she said, “It’s up to the president to decide... I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”
Ocasio-Cortez — an ardent critic of Biden’s policies on Israel and who, on Wednesday, filed a far-fetched impeachment resolution of Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — standing firmly behind Biden while Pelosi — the consummate Washington insider — leaving the door open to a Biden exit may befuddle people. But an examination of their respective roles in the Democratic Party shows they are doing what they see as best for the party.
The euphoria of Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 win and Sanders’s initial wins in the 2020 primaries faded quickly after Biden’s South Carolina victory. In the years after, progressives faced bruising losses, from being blamed for Democrats losing House seats in 2020 due to the “defund the police” slogan, to Biden and Pelosi forcing a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill before passing Build Back Better to the bill’s subsequent death at the hands of Joe Manchin.
Their most crushing loss came last month after Representative Jamaal Bowman lost his primary to a pro-Israel Democrat when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC poured millions into the race, making it the most expensive House primary in history. The super PAC is now pouring money behind a primary challenger to Representative Cori Bush, another member of the Squad, in Missouri’s first district.
All of this has shown that progressives lack the infrastructure to influence the Democratic Party on a large scale. At the same time, Biden has openly courted progressives to make them feel like they are part of the Democratic coalition.
After Manchin scotched Build Back Better and the Supreme Court nixed Biden’s initial student loan plan, the president still signed the Inflation Reduction Act — which had the largest investment in combating climate change, a top priority of progressives — and he continued fighting on student loans. That might be why Representative Ilhan Omar, another member of the Squad, told The Independent that Biden “is going to be our nominee and we have his back,” even as others openly criticized him.
Pelosi’s role is different. After Democrats lost the House in the 2022 midterms, she chose to step aside as Democratic leader. The decision allowed her to leave on top. Her farewell address felt like an Irish wake and indeed, Ocasio-Cortez praised her when she decided to step down, despite their past clashes.
Pelosi’s decision to leave allowed for a new generation of Democrats led by Hakeem Jeffries to take over — but it also offered a template for the old guard of Democrats to step aside gracefully. Her decision to stick around the House with no official title means she does not risk being seen as subverting the rest of leadership and speaks only for herself.
At the same time, despite her lack of an official title, Pelosi’s record of being the most effective House speaker in the 21st century gives her opinion weight — and so gives Democrats permission to question openly whether Biden can hold the job. Essentially, she is using her status as the universally respected matriarch of the Democratic Party to do the work that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Jeffries cannot do without causing a firestorm.
Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to stick by Biden — despite her sharp critiques of his policies — shows that she recognizes that were she to break from Biden, she would erode the power she worked to build. Meanwhile, Pelosi decided to step away from her post specifically for moments like this.
