Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) of singling out women of color newly elected to the House, calling her criticism "outright disrespectful" in an interview published Wednesday.
"When these comments first started, I kind of thought that she was keeping the progressive flank at more of an arm’s distance in order to protect more moderate members, which I understood," Ocasio-Cortez told the Washington Post. "But the persistent singling out … it got to a point where it was just outright disrespectful … the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color."
Earlier this week, Pelosi hammered Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.) in an interview with the New York Times.
Pressley told the Post that Pelosi's comments were "demoralizing."
"Thank God my mother gave me broad shoulders and a strong back. I can handle it. I’m not worried about me," Pressley said. "I am worried about the signal that it sends to people I speak to and for, who sent me here with a mandate, and how it affects them."
"All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world," Pelosi said. "But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got."
The interview came after the House passed the Senate version of a $4.6 billion border aid package, despite criticism from Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and other progressives.
Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Pelosi on Twitter.
"That public ‘whatever' is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Earlier Wednesday, Pelosi chastised her caucus for attacking one another on social media over policy disagreements.
"You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it. But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just OK," Pelosi said.