AOC slams GOP for willingness to shut down government over denying trans healthcare
AOC blasted GOP lawmakers over their willingness to shut down the government over trans healthcare restrictions. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
AOC has called out GOP lawmakers for their willingness to shut down the government over reluctance to agree to certain transgender rights, among other issues.
Threats of a government shutdown loomed over the weekend when the Republican party came to a standstill over a number of social issue riders attached to essential budget bills, enforced by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in defiance of his own party.
Among the provisions McCarthy attempted to enforce were a number of bills that would target transgender individuals, including banning the promotion of “transgenderism”, banning military servicemembers from transitioning, and introducing new restrictions on federal funding for medical care.
These cruel attempts to clamp down on transgender rights from far-right lawmakers escalated to the point that they had the potential to derail the entire US government. Representative Crenshaw even went as far as to say that a ban on gender-affirming care was the “hill we will die on.”
Thankfully the US government narrowly avoided a shutdown in the final hours of the weekend thanks to Democrats in the House who helped to pass a last-minute temporary funding measure – on the condition that a number of riders, including anti-trans and anti-abortion measures were rejected – giving the government a 45-day extension.
If the shutdown had gone ahead, government services would have been suspended and thousands of employees would have been furloughed without pay from midnight on Sunday (1 October).
After a resolution was met, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke to CNN about the shocking lengths that the GOP was willing to go to to enforce harsh conservative bans.
“I think the Republican party right now is completely out of step with the American people,” said Oscasio-Cortez.
“What we saw this week leading up to this final hour compromise – not even a compromise but a capitulation by the Republican party – we saw them go through every single possible iteration of cutting benefits.
“They tried to cut, across the board, 30 per cent of the budgets of critical agencies like the Social Security Administration.
“Some of the most ‘moderate members’ of the Republican party cast votes for things like 80 per cent cuts under the Department of Education to low-income schools.
“This is not a moderate party period. There are not moderates in the Republican party there are just different degrees of fielty to Donald Trump. But it starts with a lot of fielty and then it grows to extreme fielty.”
AOC continued: “So we saw them go through every single iteration, walk into every single wall, run around the house like a Roomba until they found a door that house democrats opened.
“They finally realised that we should not shut down the government in order to deny trans service members the ability to get healthcare, in order to deny female service members the ability to get an abortion, and they filed an extension for 45 days until we’re back in here.”
Elsewhere in her interview, AOC, said that she would “absolutely” vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as Republican House Speaker following this weekend’s government shutdown threat.
“Would I cast that vote? Absolutely. I think Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker,” she stated.
“He clearly has lost control over his caucus, he has brought the United States and millions of Americans to the brink, waiting until the final hour to keep the government open and even then, only issuing a 45-day extension, so we’re going to be right back in this place in November.
“And I think that our main priority has to be the American people and what’s going to keep our governance in a cohesive and strong place.”
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