Pelosi Reprimands Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez in Closed-Door Meeting: ‘Do Not Tweet About Our Members’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a stern warning to Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday, rebuking members for airing the party’s dirty laundry on Twitter.

This was the first major caucus meeting following the bitter battle between Pelosi and freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over the Republican’s migrant crisis funding bill, which Pelosi ultimately accepted.

“So, again, you got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it,” Pelosi told her Democrat colleagues, according to Politico. “But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok.”

Interestingly, Democrats in the room reportedly thought Pelosi was taking aim at Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who last month called moderate Democrats in the Problem Solvers Caucus members of the “Child Abuse Caucus”:

Since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus? Wouldn't they want to at least fight against contractors who run deplorable facilities? Kids are the only ones who could lose today.

— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) June 27, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez, who – just this week – sarcastically tweeted quotes from Pelosi, also came to mind:

“A glass of water could’ve [beat a 20-yr incumbt]”
“The Green Dream or whatever”
“Their public whatever”

Those aren’t quotes from me; they‘re from the Speaker. Having respect for ourselves doesn’t mean we lack respect for her.

It means we won’t let everyday people be dismissed. https://t.co/VMRkcd8xlL

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 8, 2019

During the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez took another veiled shot at Pelosi for dismissing the effectiveness of social media:

I find it strange when members act as though social media isn’t important.

They set millions of 💵 on 🔥 to run TV ads so people can see their message.

I haven’t dialed for dollars *once* this year, & have more time to do my actual job. Yet we’d rather campaign like it’s 2008.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 7, 2019

She also responded to a remark Pelosi made, featured in a New York Times piece Sunday.

“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”

“That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country”:

That public “whatever” is called public sentiment.

And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country. https://t.co/u6JtgwwRsk

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 7, 2019

Despite Pelosi’s pointed tone, her spokesman said her remark was not aimed at one person. Rather, it was a general message to the caucus as a whole.

“I’m here to help the children when it’s easy and when it’s hard. Some of you are here to make a beautiful pâté but we’re making sausage most of the time,” Pelosi reportedly told members during the meeting.

She also took a moment to defend “moderate” Democrats, stressing that they are key to holding a majority in the House.

That much is true. As Breitbart News noted, Democrats successfully took the House in the 2018 election “because of more moderate Democrats from swing districts, who are silently opposed to these leftist policy priorities that Ocasio-Cortez’s squad is driving.”

“We are a family, and every family has its moments,” Pelosi said.

While Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to Pelosi’s direct remarks following the meeting, Ocasio-Cortez’s “squad” member, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), did.

“But Omar defended her allies, saying she and other Democrats can vote however they want,” Politico reported.

“I hope that leadership understands their role and understands what our role is,” Omar reportedly said.