Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-NY) listens during a congressional hearing

AOC Slams Ted Cruz on Twitter Over His Role in the Capitol Riots

"In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign."

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took Texas Senator Ted Cruz to task today on Twitter. The congresswoman, who has long butted heads with the conservative senator, demanded accountability after Cruz and his fellow Republicans stoked the anger of their base and reaffirmed Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him (it was not).

When Cruz tried to piggyback on AOC’s call for trading app Robinhood to be investigated, she called him out, writing “I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out. Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”

AOC continued, “While you conveniently talk about “moving on,” a second Capitol police officer lost their life yesterday in the still-raging aftermath of the attacks you had a role in. This isn’t a joke. We need accountability, and that includes a new Senator from Texas.”

Seven people have died since the riots on January 6, with dozens more still recovering from injury and trauma. In the aftermath, no Republicans have come forward to apologize, resign, or show any kind of humility in light of the violence and insurrection they encouraged. And with the exception of five senators, all senate Republicans voted not to hold an impeachment trial for Trump.

Instead of accepting any kind of responsibility, Republicans like Cruz and Marco Rubio have called for “unity” and insisted that we should all just move on from the first violent attack on our nation’s Capitol in over two centuries. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy even tried to place the blame on “everyone” for his party’s heinous acts.

Cruz has since responded, “You know, there’s a lot of partisan anger and rage on the Democratic side. It’s, it’s not healthy for our country, it’s certainly not conducive of healing or unity, but everyone has to decide how they want to interact with others.”

AOC added, “Oh, there’s anger? … What does he think the logical response to his lies should be? A hug? Maybe there’s anger bc his actions deserve accountability.”

AOC is right: the GOP, after bearing responsibility for courting extremism and conspiracy theories, is now trying to gaslight the nation into believing they did nothing wrong. It’s yet another tragic example of the GOP’s rank hypocrisy, as the party of personal responsibility refuses to take any for their own behavior.

(featured image: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.