Democrat Congressman: AOC isn't the one who 'owes her colleagues an apology' for Cruz comments

"AOC is saying aloud what MANY of us are thinking," said Rep. Gerry Connolly in reaction to demand for apology from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for telling Ted Cruz "you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago."

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: January 29, 2021 5:47pm

Updated: January 30, 2021 1:00pm

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to seek an apology from New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for making what he called a "scurrilous charge" against Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Twitter.

Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly came to the defense of Ocasio-Cortez in response to Roy's letter to Pelosi.

Ocasio-Cortez retweeted Connolly's statement on her Twitter account on Friday.

Cruz replied to a tweet from Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday about the Robinhood smartphone app controversy and said he agreed with her statement.

In response, Ocasio-Cortez wrote: "I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out. Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign."

Reacting to the New York Democrat's statement, Cruz said: "There's a lot of partisan anger and rage on the Democratic side. It's not healthy for our country, it's certainly not conducive of healing or unity, but everyone has to decide how they want to interact with others."

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Cruz's statement on Twitter.

"Oh, there's anger? Now why would there be anger that Cruz amplified known lies about our election that fueled an insurrection that cost ppl's lives?" she tweeted. "What does he think the logical response to his lies should be? A hug? Maybe there's anger bc his actions deserve accountability."

In his letter to Pelosi, Roy wrote that Ocasio-Cortez was "in essence" accusing Cruz of "murder" and that the speaker should ask her to "immediately apologize and retract her comments."

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee has reportedly encouraged the GOP caucus to call on Ocasio-Cortez to apologize for her statements about Cruz and if she doesn't, Lee suggested a censure resolution against the congresswoman. Lee's office was not available for comment.