The feud between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and progressive Democratic newcomers — particularly Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — does not seem to be subsiding. And President Trump has apparently picked a side.
The tensions have been bubbling for quite some time, but rose to the surface after a clash over a border funding bill. Pelosi called for compromise, but the progressives refused to cede any ground to the GOP. Since then, Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez have traded barbs.
The New York Times' Maureen Dowd defended Pelosi. In a column published on Saturday she wrote that some of the progressives act as if anyone who disagrees with them is "guilty of some human failing, some impurity that is a moral evil that justifies their own venom."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Guardian's Arwa Mahdawi disagreed, arguing that Pelosi was focusing her criticism on the wrong crowd, as "America grows increasingly brazen in its bigotry." Mahdawi wrote that Pelosi is really just trying to maintain the status quo.
On Sunday morning another voice jumped into the debate — the president's. Trump tweeted that the progressive democratic congresswomen "should go back and help fix the the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." He added that he's sure Pelosi "would be very happy to work out free travel arrangements."
Trump's criticisms make little sense, however, if he is indeed talking about the aforementioned congresswomen. While it's true Omar was born in Somalia, she has lived in the U.S. since age 12 and is a citizen. Meanwhile, Pressley was born in Cincinnati, Tlaib in Detroit, and Ocasio-Cortez in New York.
-
Cider farms to visit this autumnThe Week Recommends With harvest season fast approaching, spend an afternoon at one of these idyllic orchards
-
Endangered shark meat is being mislabeled and sold in the USUnder the radar It could cause both health and ecological problems
-
Crossword: September 15, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
