The tumult of Eric Adams’s indictment on federal charges as part of a long-running corruption case has much of New York’s media and political classes already consumed by speculation around who will take over the mayoralty.
But they’re also talking about another New Yorker who is far from likely to be seeking that job: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the rising progressive star of the New York congressional delegation. Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken backbencher in the Democratic House caucus, was one of the very first state electeds to call for Adams to resign as the feds closed in around him.
Her call for the mayor to step down actually came just a few hours before the impending indictment hit the headlines. Absent any comment about the criminal charges themselves, her statement referred instead to the growing staff exodus from the Adams administration and the separate investigations into the mayor’s political allies.
“The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration,” she wrote on Twitter. “For the good of the city, he should resign.”
Adams stands accused of taking illegal campaign contributions, defrauding the city’s campaign fund, and even pressuring the New York Fire Department to open a consulate for the government of Turkey without following proper fire code protocols. The five-count indictment describes comical efforts to allegedly cover up the scheme, including an Adams aide reportedly excusing themself to the bathroom during an FBI interview, then deleting messages in the bathroom. Adams denies all the allegations.
The impending political vacuum at the top of New York City politics is bound to shake up the political scene at a time when it’s widely speculated that 34-year-old Ocasio-Cortez is eyeing a greater role in her party. She delivered a primetime address at the Democratic National Convention in August — the only backbencher “Squad” member to do so — and received some of the loudest cheers of the night. Her willingness to figuratively stick her neck out on the issue of Adams — presumably before knowing the indictment was coming — is another sign that she’s looking to take on a leadership role.
The Independent reached out to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez as lawmakers were on Capitol Hill to pass a short-term funding bill this week. She declined to talk about her future plans, explaining that her focus was centered on House business.
It remains to be seen when — or if — the congresswoman will pursue her political career beyond the 14th district. She very publicly declined to run for Senate this cycle in a statement last year, a move that likely triggered a few sighs of relief in the office of Senator Kristen Gillibrand, the Democratic incumbent up for re-election. That means she’ll be waiting until 2028 at least to make a bid for the upper chamber, unless a resignation occurs before then.
Waiting is something the third-term congresswoman is good at — and that’s not a bartending joke. Unlike other progessives in New York politics, particularly in the city, Ocasio-Cortez is not a perennial campaigner. She hasn’t sought an office yet besides the one she first won in 2018, declining two opportunities to run for Senate.
Chuck Schumer was reported to have been worried about a primary challenge from Ocasio-Cortez in 2022, when he was last up for re-election. His worries in and of themselves are notable, given that he’s the senior-most Democratic leader in the entire state, as well as in Congress. If the congresswoman does mount a bid against Schumer in 2028, her decision not to seek a Senate seat in either of the past two cycles will likely play to her benefit.
Under Joe Biden’s presidency, Ocasio-Cortez has charted a difficult course. She and the progressive “Squad” of the House’s furthest-left members emerged as some of Biden’s loudest allies in the House when it came to passing his signature Build Back Better legislation, which later died due to opposition in the Senate. At the same time, she has continued to stake out positions which keep her in line with her base of leftist supporters both in her district and online, including by being one of the first members of Congress to call the Israeli assault on Gaza a “genocide” and to support an arms embargo.
Her true strength — and the reason Schumer fears her possible statewide elected ambitions — comes from her proven ability to expand her support beyond the progressive left. It was a failing that hamstrung Bernie Sanders during his two presidential bids, as he was unable to chip away at larger coalitions of voters within the Democratic Party. But Ocasio-Cortez frequently finds herself the target of praise from centrists and even some Trump-opposed Republicans. Such unlikely friends have become enamored with her eloquent remarks in interviews and around Capitol Hill, as well as the level of preparedness she has demonstrated at committee hearings — like her grilling of Michael Cohen in 2019.
We’re still a long way out from AOC even theoretically having an opportunity or reason to make any national ambitions public. But if the Adams indictment reminds us of one thing, it’s that New York politics is never really very stable, and often throws one’s planned political future for a spin.
