Republicans are desperately trying to convince the American people that Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is responsible for the government shutdown.
The U.S. is on Day 2 of the shutdown with no clear path forward.
For days, GOP lawmakers have argued that the reason Senate Democrats are not agreeing to the GOP spending deal passed in the House is because of AOC and the far left.
“He’s trying to avoid a challenge from his left flank in his next Senate reelection campaign,” Speaker Mike Johnson claimed of Schumer on Thursday.
“Chuck Schumer wants to try to prove to somebody that he’s more liberal than AOC,” said Senator John Barrasso, surrounded by GOP leaders, on Wednesday.
“Why are we all in a Schumer shutdown? I think we all know the answer to that. Because Chuck Schumer is scared of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” claimed Sen. Tom Cotton.
“Schumer is terrified of AOC,” Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters outside the Senate chamber.
The accusations stem from the Senate minority leader getting hammered earlier this year by the base after he and several other Democratic senators broke with House Democrats and allowed the GOP spending bill in March to pass.
The New York senator’s decision enraged Democrats across the political spectrum who wanted the party to hold the line against Trump despite the threat of a shutdown. It led to calls for him to step down as minority leader while some called on AOC, a fellow New Yorker, to primary him.
However, it was not just liberal lawmakers who voted against it the last go-round. Every single House Democrat but one remained united in their opposition, similar to the vote by the House last month on the most recent short-term spending deal. The majority of Senate Democrats also opposed the bill in March.
While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Schumer were at odds over how to proceed in March, they have lock in step with the current budget battle.
They are demanding that Republicans work with them to address the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies at the end of the year which will cause health insurance costs to skyrocket as well as reverse GOP cuts to Medicaid.
Democrats have slammed the Republican allegations that it’s really AOC in charge and Schumer is only going along because he’s scared.
Asked about the GOP’s AOC claims, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi snapped at a reporter this week.
“Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?” she asked. “She is not directing this. She’s wonderful. She’s a real team player and the rest of that. You started by saying Republicans say that she’s directing this. She is not. Hakeem Jeffries is, and this takes a lot of experience, a lot of unity from the caucus on the point of view.”
In total, 210 Democrats in the House and 44 in the Senate have voted against the Republican short-term spending bill.
The New York congresswoman acknowledged she was getting blamed by Republicans for the shutdown on social media.
“If Republicans want to blame their shutdown on me, they are more than welcome to come to my office and negotiate anytime,” she wrote. “Unlike them, I won’t let kids and hard working people get cut off their insulin and chemo on my watch.”
If Republicans want to blame their shutdown on me, they are more than welcome to come to my office and negotiate anytime.Unlike them, I won’t let kids and hard working people get cut off their insulin and chemo on my watch.They know it, too. Door’s open fellas. Your call. https://t.co/q1FsbiuqyH
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 1, 2025
However, when it comes to the messaging war over the government shutdown, multiple polls show Americans are not buying Republicans’ narrative and actually blame the GOP for the shutdown.
47 percent of Americans said Trump and Republicans in Congress are responsible for the shutdown, according to a Washington Post poll on Thursday. Just 30 percent said Democrats were to blame.
A NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released just ahead of the funding deadline found 38 percent of respondents would blame Republicans for a shutdown while 27 percent said Democrats. 21 percent said both.
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