Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she can’t afford apartment in DC until she receives congressional salary

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Kathleen Joyce | Fox News




Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman elected to Congress Tuesday, said she cannot afford to rent an apartment in Washington, D.C., until her congressional salary kicks in.

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, made national headlines after she defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's June primary, and will now represent the state’s 14th Congressional District. She told The New York Times that the transition period from now until she starts her job “will be very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary.”

“I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real,” Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times.

She told the paper she saved up before she left her job as a bartender at a New York City restaurant.

“We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January,” she said.

After the story gained traction, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about her apartment situation saying she was “working it out.”

“There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t ever designed [nor prepared] for working-class people to lead,” she tweeted. “This is one of them [don’t worry by the way – we’re working it out!]”

She will make $174,000 a year as a member of Congress, according to NBC Washington. A one-room bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C., on average, goes for about $2,170 a month, a report by Zumper stated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[RBP]

Not buying that.

And "her partner"? Is she gay?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

She's a poor socialist ex-bartender, she has no money

[RBP]

uh-huh.

[RBP]

I'm shocked she even won with such fierce competition.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I'm guessing the republicans never run anyone worthwhile in that district.

[RBP]

I'm guessing the republicans never run anyone worthwhile in that district.

It's like that here... normal to have unopposed Dems on my ballot also.

[Muddy]

Horsey just made the big leagues.

[RBP]

There's just parts of this whole thing that don't add up for me.

She graduated from Boston University, a private $70k a year school with a degree in economics and international relations and worked in Ted Kennedy's office.

Huh. Poor little Rican from the Bronx you say?

[RBP]

There's just parts of this whole thing that don't add up for me.

She graduated from Boston University, a private $70k a year school with a degree in economics and international relations and worked in Ted Kennedy's office.

Huh. Poor little Rican from the Bronx you say?

[DemonGeminiX]

She should suck DC dick for extra cash. She's not gonna be any good for anything else. I still can't believe she got elected. NY is full of morons.

[Muddy]

She should suck DC dick for extra cash.

Too teethy..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Morgan Gstalter - The Hill


Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tore into Fox News hosts on Friday for "gleefully" cracking jokes about her finances, saying that the hosts' comments revealed what their thoughts about working-class people.

Ocasio-Cortez revealed on Thursday that she will need to wait for her congressional salary to kick in before she can afford to rent an apartment in D.C.

A Fox News panel laughed on Friday as they discussed the incoming freshman lawmaker's finances.

The panel agreed that the cost of living in the Washington, D.C., metro area is one of the highest in the nation, adding that other lawmakers might face the same issue.

Fox News contributor Judy Miller claimed that Ocasio-Cortez’s admission was a political move her base would love.

“I think what she’s talking about is all of the money in Washington, all of the wealth in Washington, all of the power and a little, simple person like her from New York can’t find a place to live,” Miller said. “It is a brilliant political line."

Anchor Ed Henry claimed that the designer clothes Ocasio-Cortez wore during photoshoots following her primary victory could have been spent on living expenses.

“She had these multithousand-dollar outfits that could pay a month’s rent in Washington D.C.,” he said.

Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter, saying it was “very revealing to see how gleefully Fox News hosts crack jokes about working-class people.”

"It is bizarre to see 1%-salaried anchors laugh at the US housing crisis," Ocasio-Cortez added in a second tweet.

The future congresswoman said she never purchased the expensive clothes borrowed for her photo shoots and hit at the anchors who mispronounced her name several times throughout the segment.

The Hill has reached out to Fox News for comment.

Ocasio-Cortez, who on Tuesday became the youngest woman in history elected to Congress, worked as a bartender before pulling off a stunning defeat of top incumbent Democrat Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.) in the primary election in June.

There are three months between her general election victory and when she is sworn in as a congressional member, meaning she will not make a salary for that time period.

Ocasio-Cortez said she saved some money before leaving her job at a restaurant and had planned accordingly with her partner.

“We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January," she told The New York Times in an interview.

[DemonGeminiX]

Welcome to the soulless viper pit known as Washington. Get used to the criticism. I bet in 6 months she'll be wishing she's still making Long Island Iced Teas in a shitty bar in the 5 Boroughs. That town's gonna eat her alive.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I wonder how much of the pay will be redistributed by her