SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks at a news conference on April 7, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Ocasio-Cortez: Maloney Should Quit DCCC Post If He Runs Against Mondaire Jones
"It's completely inappropriate" for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to be in charge of the House Democrats' campaign arm "if he's going to challenge another member," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
May 19, 2022
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney should resign as leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee--a re-election apparatus designed to protect party incumbents in the House--if he follows through with his plan to take on Rep. Mondaire Jones in New York's newly redrawn 17th Congressional District.
"I don't think he should be DCCC chair if he's going to challenge another member," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Punchbowl News. "It's completely inappropriate."
"Given the resources he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest," Ocasio-Cortez told Politico, referring to the fact that Maloney could possibly tap into the DCCC's massive arsenal to give himself an edge.
Maloney, whose current jurisdiction is New York's 18th Congressional District, announced earlier this week that he intends to run against Jones in the neighboring 17th District, setting off a firestorm of progressive criticism.
According to a draft redistricting map, which won't be finalized until Friday, Jones represents three-quarters of the new 17th District's constituents, while Maloney represents just one-quarter. Nevertheless, the DCCC chair is still threatening to launch a primary challenge against a progressive incumbent rather than seeking re-election in the 18th District, where the vast majority of his supporters reside.
Calling Maloney's potential move "terrible" and "hypocritical," Ocasio-Cortez said that it's "particularly shameful" that the leader of the DCCC "cannot seem to take his redistricting on the chin."
As progressives have argued over the course of the week, Maloney's actions might compel Jones to challenge fellow first-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the 16th District, which would cause House progressives to lose a key member.
Regarding Maloney's decision to not run in the 18th District, Ocasio-Cortez said that "it absolutely further imperils our majority by him vacating that seat, leaving it open and also really intruding on the district of a wonderful member."
While the progressive lawmaker vowed to demand Maloney's resignation from his campaign leadership post if he runs against Jones, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated that she thinks Maloney is a "great chairman" of the DCCC.
"I'm not getting involved in the politics of New York and redistricting," Pelosi added, even as commentators warn that Maloney's actions could cost Democrats a seat in the House.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Kenny Stancil
Kenny Stancil is senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project and a former staff writer for Common Dreams.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney should resign as leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee--a re-election apparatus designed to protect party incumbents in the House--if he follows through with his plan to take on Rep. Mondaire Jones in New York's newly redrawn 17th Congressional District.
"I don't think he should be DCCC chair if he's going to challenge another member," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Punchbowl News. "It's completely inappropriate."
"Given the resources he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest," Ocasio-Cortez told Politico, referring to the fact that Maloney could possibly tap into the DCCC's massive arsenal to give himself an edge.
Maloney, whose current jurisdiction is New York's 18th Congressional District, announced earlier this week that he intends to run against Jones in the neighboring 17th District, setting off a firestorm of progressive criticism.
According to a draft redistricting map, which won't be finalized until Friday, Jones represents three-quarters of the new 17th District's constituents, while Maloney represents just one-quarter. Nevertheless, the DCCC chair is still threatening to launch a primary challenge against a progressive incumbent rather than seeking re-election in the 18th District, where the vast majority of his supporters reside.
Calling Maloney's potential move "terrible" and "hypocritical," Ocasio-Cortez said that it's "particularly shameful" that the leader of the DCCC "cannot seem to take his redistricting on the chin."
As progressives have argued over the course of the week, Maloney's actions might compel Jones to challenge fellow first-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the 16th District, which would cause House progressives to lose a key member.
Regarding Maloney's decision to not run in the 18th District, Ocasio-Cortez said that "it absolutely further imperils our majority by him vacating that seat, leaving it open and also really intruding on the district of a wonderful member."
While the progressive lawmaker vowed to demand Maloney's resignation from his campaign leadership post if he runs against Jones, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated that she thinks Maloney is a "great chairman" of the DCCC.
"I'm not getting involved in the politics of New York and redistricting," Pelosi added, even as commentators warn that Maloney's actions could cost Democrats a seat in the House.
Kenny Stancil
Kenny Stancil is senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project and a former staff writer for Common Dreams.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney should resign as leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee--a re-election apparatus designed to protect party incumbents in the House--if he follows through with his plan to take on Rep. Mondaire Jones in New York's newly redrawn 17th Congressional District.
"I don't think he should be DCCC chair if he's going to challenge another member," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Punchbowl News. "It's completely inappropriate."
"Given the resources he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest," Ocasio-Cortez told Politico, referring to the fact that Maloney could possibly tap into the DCCC's massive arsenal to give himself an edge.
Maloney, whose current jurisdiction is New York's 18th Congressional District, announced earlier this week that he intends to run against Jones in the neighboring 17th District, setting off a firestorm of progressive criticism.
According to a draft redistricting map, which won't be finalized until Friday, Jones represents three-quarters of the new 17th District's constituents, while Maloney represents just one-quarter. Nevertheless, the DCCC chair is still threatening to launch a primary challenge against a progressive incumbent rather than seeking re-election in the 18th District, where the vast majority of his supporters reside.
Calling Maloney's potential move "terrible" and "hypocritical," Ocasio-Cortez said that it's "particularly shameful" that the leader of the DCCC "cannot seem to take his redistricting on the chin."
As progressives have argued over the course of the week, Maloney's actions might compel Jones to challenge fellow first-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the 16th District, which would cause House progressives to lose a key member.
Regarding Maloney's decision to not run in the 18th District, Ocasio-Cortez said that "it absolutely further imperils our majority by him vacating that seat, leaving it open and also really intruding on the district of a wonderful member."
While the progressive lawmaker vowed to demand Maloney's resignation from his campaign leadership post if he runs against Jones, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated that she thinks Maloney is a "great chairman" of the DCCC.
"I'm not getting involved in the politics of New York and redistricting," Pelosi added, even as commentators warn that Maloney's actions could cost Democrats a seat in the House.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.