Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made it clear to Sen. Ted Cruz that the events of the Capitol insurrection were still fresh in her mind, and that the recent frenzy of attention on the stock market battle between Reddit investors, hedge funds and the Robinhood app would not cloud her memory.
On Thursday, Ms Ocasio-Cortez called for a probe in stock trading app Robinhood after the company barred its users from purchasing GameStop, AMC and Nokia stocks, among others.
The stocks in question were the focus of a war of attrition between investors from Reddit’s WallStreetBets board and various hedge funds attempting to short sell the stock.
Mr Cruz backed Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s call for an investigation, retweeting her with the message “fully agree.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said she was happy to work with Republicans on an investigation; just not Mr Cruz.
“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but [Mr Cruz] almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” she said. “Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez was referencing the insurrection at the Capitol building that she and several other Democratic lawmakers have accused Mr Cruz of helping foment.
Mr Cruz led the effort by some Republican Senators to challenge the electoral votes from states where Donald Trump claimed – incorrectly – that massive voter fraud had taken place.
A day before the attack on the Capitol, Mr Cruz met with rally-goers outside Washington DC and whipped them into a frenzy, telling Trump supporters they would “not go quietly into the night,” cribbing a line from the movie Independence Day.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said Mr Cruz could help her by resigning.
She had previously called on Mr Cruz and Sen. Josh Hawley, who also spearheaded the Senate effort to overturn the electoral vote count, to resign.
In the same post, Ms Ocasio-Cortez pointed out to Mr Cruz that another Capitol police officer died in the wake of the attacks by way of suicide.
“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,” she said. “This isn’t a joke. We need accountability, and that includes a new Senator from Texas.”
She then told the Senator to quit “clout chasing” on her timeline, and reiterated her willingness to work with Republicans in order to investigate Robinhood.
“You haven’t even apologized for the serious physical + mental harm you contributed to from Capitol Police & custodial workers to your own fellow members of Congress. In the meantime, you can get off my timeline & stop clout-chasing. Thanks” she said. “Happy to work with other GOP on this.”
