A leading conservative member of the House of Representatives warned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that Congress isn’t all fun and games in a strange remark Tuesday afternoon.
Bloomberg reported that during the first meeting of the now-Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) told the freshman congresswoman that members of the chamber are “not just sitting around eating bonbons.”
Though Meadows reportedly extended a “cordial” welcome to Ocasio-Cortez and other freshman Democrats, he made the remarks when she pushed back against a motion he proposed.
The Freedom Caucus Republican and his GOP colleagues told Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) that “members should get more than three days’ notice to attend questioning of witnesses by Democratic staff lawyers. Meadows said five days was better, particularly for lawmakers who live far from Washington,” Bloomberg reported.
Ocasio-Cortez said she doesn’t “believe we need five days” if members are correctly doing their jobs, prompting Meadows’ response.
“Mr. Chairman, I can tell you on all of this at this particular point, we’re all wanting to cooperate,” the North Carolina Republican said. “Sometimes our schedules, you know, we’re not just sitting around eating bonbons, waiting for the call of anybody.”
The headline-grabbing freshman Democrat then asked Chairman Cummings if Republicans offered the same extension to Democrats during the last session — to which he responded that they hadn’t.
“OK,” she said. “Thank you.”