As Kevin McCarthy foundered in his attempt to secure the House speakership on Tuesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was spotted on the floor talking to two of her more controversial colleagues: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Her exchanges with Gosar and Gaetz, two of the 20 Republicans who bucked McCarthy’s repeated bids to secure enough votes, appeared amiable, but audio was not captured. The New York congresswoman later told reporters that she had been reassuring Gosar and Gaetz that Democratic leadership wasn’t planning a side deal to buttress McCarthy. “McCarthy was suggesting he could get Dems to walk away to lower his threshold,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Intercept of her talk with Gaetz. “And I fact checked and said absolutely not.” She added that she had been discussing adjournment strategy with Gosar. In an MSNBC appearance several hours later, Ocasio-Cortez emphasized the “unprecedented” nature of the situation, saying, “It's about the cards that are in McCarthy’s hands. And if he chooses to approach the Democratic caucus, then that would be a negotiation in and of itself for a potential coalition government.”
