Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday that the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was initially tied with the much larger reconciliation bill, so neither bill will pass “if people try to separate them.”
Ocasio-Cortez appeared Sunday on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” where she was asked to remark on some of House Democrats’ comments about her “not playing for the team” by holding the infrastructure bill hostage in an attempt to push the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.
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“Well, the agreement several months ago to even proceed on that one bipartisan bill was that it was tied with our larger Build Back Better agenda,” Ocasio-Cortez responded.
“[S]ome folks say, ‘why don’t you just pass this and we’ll see everything else later?’ Well, first of all, both of the bills need to pass. Both will not pass if people try to separate them. If we try to diverge from that agreement that was settled several months ago,” she added.
During the interview, Ocasio-Cortez also called President Joe Biden “a moderate” but added that he understands the progressive Democrats’ perspectives. (RELATED: ‘Totally False’: Manchin Bucks Ocasio-Cortez’s Claim That ‘Weekly Huddles’ With Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Are Killing People)
She then criticized other moderates like Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, whom she accused of being bad team players and informing their decisions with “individual sort of preferences.”
“But that is okay. You know, we’re going to come together. I believe in the vision and the commitment of our party for working people,” she added.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi extended the deadline Saturday for the House’s vote on the infrastructure bill to Oct. 31.