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SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC
Saikat Chakrabarti leaving Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's staff. |
“Saikat has decided to leave the office of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to work with New Consensus to further develop plans for a Green New Deal,” communications director Corbin Trent said in a statement to The Intercept, which first reported the news. Trent will also be leaving his position to join the congresswoman's campaign staff.
“We are extraordinarily grateful for his service to advance a bold agenda and improve the lives of the people in NY-14. From his co-founding of Justice Democrats to his work on the Ocasio-Cortez campaign and in the official office, Saikat’s goal has always been to do whatever he can to help the larger progressive movement, and we look forward to continuing working with him to do just that,” said Trent.
Chakrabarti, an Indian American, who represented the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, was made Politico’s “Power List,” of people to watch in 2019. The list, Politico says, “highlights politicians, activists and operatives across the country who are positioned to play a critical role in the political landscape leading up to 2020.”
Chakrabarti, 33, worked in Silicon Valley before joining the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 where he met Trent and Oacasio-Cortez.
He angered some of Ocasio-Cortez’s Congressional peers early in July when he took to Twitter and comparee some moderate Democrats to southern segregationists.
“Instead of ‘fiscally conservative but socially liberal,’ let’s call the New Democrats and Blue Dog Caucus the ‘New Southern Democrats,’ ” Chakrabarti wrote in a tweet that is now deleted. “They certainly seem hell bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”
Chakrabarti made a veiled allegation of racism against When Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) voted in late June for a bipartisan bill to appropriate money to government operations on the southern border. Chakrabarti said of Davids: “Her votes are showing her to enable a racist system.”
That tweet drew an angry response from the official House Democrats’ Twitter account, which is managed by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn: “Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color?”
According to Ocasio-Cortez’s office, the departures are not a result of the dust-up with leadership, and were decided well before the public feuds took place.
“Instead of ‘fiscally conservative but socially liberal,’ let’s call the New Democrats and Blue Dog Caucus the ‘New Southern Democrats,’ ” Chakrabarti wrote in a tweet that is now deleted. “They certainly seem hell bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”
Chakrabarti made a veiled allegation of racism against When Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) voted in late June for a bipartisan bill to appropriate money to government operations on the southern border. Chakrabarti said of Davids: “Her votes are showing her to enable a racist system.”
That tweet drew an angry response from the official House Democrats’ Twitter account, which is managed by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn: “Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color?”
Chakrabarti's Twitter activity was one of the reasons that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a message to Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ocasio-Cortez, cautioning them on their social media comments.
That led to a one-on-one meeting a week ago between Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez to defuse the tension between the progressive and moderate Democrats.On Friday (July 2) he departures of Chakrabarti and Trent were announced. Chakrabarti leaves immediately but Trent's last day hasn't been announced.
According to Ocasio-Cortez’s office, the departures are not a result of the dust-up with leadership, and were decided well before the public feuds took place.
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