AOC, Nancy Pelosi at war over New York Congressional Card fallout

The New York Democratic Party’s civil war over its botched congressional districts has reached the national level – progressive arsonist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Battle lines between AOC – a socialist representing parts of the Bronx and Queens – and California national party leader Pelosi have been drawn across a turf war in the Empire State sparked by the illegal gerrymandering of state party officials.

This led to Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to challenge an incumbent black congressman from a neighboring district after he was removed from his own.

Maloney indicated he would challenge first-term Representative Mondaire Jones over proposed changes in their congressional districts drawn by a special master by court order to resolve unconstitutional gerrymander on the political map of New York State.

AOC on Thursday asked Maloney to step down from his senior post as party fundraiser chair over the policy decision.

“I don’t think he should be DCCC chairman if he wants to challenge another member. It’s totally inappropriate.” AOC tells Punch bowl news.

Pelosi initially refused to take the bait when asked about Maloney vs. Jones at her weekly press conference, saying, “I’m not going to get involved in New York politics.”

But it didn’t take much to get her to step in after a reporter pressed her about whether the local battle was having an impact on national Democrats.

“Not at all,” she replied, to which Fox News’ Chad Pergram continued, “Why not?”

“Because it isn’t,” Pelosi insisted. “We have a great DCCC Chair and we are very proud of Sean Patrick Maloney.”

Meanwhile, AOC continued: “It’s also particularly shameful [that] a member of the Democratic leadership, particularly as the leader of the DCCC, who is urging us all to make sacrifices…can’t seem to take his re-election by the chin.” Politico’s ally Mutnick.

“It creates a conflict of interest given the resources he has at the helm,” Ocasio-Cortez said, prompting him to step down from the fundraising post.

And she added of Maloney’s decision to vacate his current seat to challenge Jones: “It absolutely further jeopardizes our majority if he vacates this seat, leaves it open and really encroaches on a wonderful member’s precinct.” Mutnick tweeted.

“I believe if he’s running in a primary and challenging another Democratic member, then he should step down from his DCCC responsibilities,” AOC concluded.

Ocasio-Cortez, the unofficial leader of the party’s far-left progressive wing, challenged Maloney a day after Bronx MP Ritchie Torres accused the DCCC boss of engaging in “thinly veiled racism” for breaking his run against Jones in Jones’ redraw 17th congressional district instead of his own reassigned 18th district.

Maloney had no immediate comment at the DCCC’s request.

The power struggle between Democrats and Democrats erupted because the courts had thrown out the state party’s proposed congressional tickets for illegal partisan manipulation to increase Democratic representation in Congress.

Republican critics called the gerrymandering a “Hochulmander” because Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the flawed redistribution plan into law.

As a result, court-appointed special master Jonathan Cervantes redrawn the state’s 26 congressional maps, moving the homes and power bases of some incumbents to the same district – potentially pitting them against one another.

State judge Patrick McAllister is expected to approve the new cards on Friday.

Another complication: the homes of two black incumbents — Jones and Rep. Jamaal Bowman — will be lumped together.

Bowman, a former middle school principal, currently represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester. But the Bronx has been carved out of its redrawn borough, which now extends farther north into Westchester.

In another example, veteran Manhattan Reps Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney are thrown into the same borough, the redesigned 12th Ward. Both stated that they wanted to compete against each other.

Nadler has represented Manhattan’s West Side for four decades. Just as long, Maloney has represented the East Side. Both were elected to Congress in 1992.