It is time for both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be replaced, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Intercept's podcast on Wednesday, but warned that a power vacuum could be filled by "nefarious forces" who are "even more conservative."
"I do think we need new leadership in the Democratic Party," the New York Democrat said. "I think one of the things that I have struggled with, I think that a lot of people struggle with, is the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there [are] very little options for succession."
Ocasio-Cortez said there are no realistic alternatives to Pelosi because power has been concentrated in those "with a lack of real grooming on the next generation of leadership."
The progressive firebrand said that "My concern — and I acknowledge this as a failing, as something that we need to sort out — is that there isn't a plan. How do we fill that vacuum? Because if you create that vacuum, there are so many nefarious forces at play to fill that vacuum with something even worse. And so, the actual sad state of affairs is that there are folks more conservative than even they are willing to kind of fill that void."
Ocasio-Cortez said this situation results in talented newcomers leaving Congress or running for statewide office instead.
She said "the answer is we need to shift power … to make sure that we have a transition of power in the Democratic Party."
But she ruled out running for speaker anytime soon, saying "The House is extraordinarily complex and I’m not ready. It can’t be me. I know that I couldn’t do that job."