Washington —
As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of refusing to work to end the government shutdown and referred to House Speaker Mike Johnson as focusing on “inane and silly” things, the White House’s rapid response account was calling her and fellow progressive Bernie Sanders “not serious people.”
The 90-minute town hall with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins illustrated how far apart how Democrats and Republicans are from resolving their differences.
Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, and Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman from New York, warned Wednesday night that the nation’s health care system could collapse if Republicans don’t agree to their demands in a deal to end the federal government shutdown.
Both lawmakers are among the most progressive members of Congress. But Democrats have broadly united behind the shutdown strategy they support — insisting they won’t vote to fund the government until majority Republicans agree to extend subsidies for health insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace that are set to expire at the end of this year.
Republican leaders who need Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold say th
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