Pelosi's endorsement of Sen. Markey's moderate challenger opens old wounds with House progressives

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement of a challenger to a fellow Democratic incumbent, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, has but another crack in the fractured relationship she has with the caucus’ most progressive wing.  

Pelosi on Thursday endorsed Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy in his bid to unseat Markey, who’s seeking a full second term.

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the unofficial leader of the House's most progressive wing, hours after Pelosi’s endorsement suggested that she had sidestepped a recently-enacted rule that effectively stops the support of incumbent House challenges.

The rule was made by the Democratic Congressional Committee after the 2018 midterms and essentially blacklists campaign vendors who work with the challengers. 

“So @dccc, when can we expect you to reverse your blacklist policy against primary orgs? Between this and lack of care around @IlhanMN’s challenger, it seems like less a policy and more a cherry-picking activity,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, also referring to the recent, successful reelection bid by fellow House progressive Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar

Omar’s moderate challenger acknowledged getting around the rule by the DCCC, House Democrats’ fundraising arm. Pelosi was reportedly briefed on the policy change and approved it.

Kennedy, Markey's challenger, is also a moderate, like fellow family members in the Kennedy political dynasty. Markey served 25 years in the House with Pelosi before joining the Senate in 2012.

As an unofficial policy, elected officials don’t back challengers to fellow party members.

Occasio-Cortez on her first day on Capitol Hill in 2018 joined a climate change sit-it outside of Pelosi’s leadership office and she co-authored with Markey the far-reaching climate change bill known as the Green New Deal, which Pelosi referred to as “the green dream or whatever."