Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chases Senate leader Mitch McConnell to demand he reopen government

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among four Democrats to march through congress and demand Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hold a vote to reopen the government.

The 29-year-old progressive visited the Senate majority office, the Senate cloakroom, the Senate floor, and McConnell’s personal office trying to hunt the Republican down and deliver a letter insisting he tabled the vote.

‘He seems to be running away from us,’ said New York lawmaker Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest female member of Congress in history, as she paced through the Capitol.

From left: Jahana Hayes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lauren Underwood and Katie Hill march through congress looking for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Ocasio-Cortez started the hashtag #WheresMitch as she visited his office in the Capitol but couldn't find him 

Ocasio-Cortez started the hashtag #WheresMitch as she visited his office in the Capitol but couldn’t find him 

The Democrats were hoping to deliver a letter demanding he hold a vote to reopen the government

The Democrats were hoping to deliver a letter demanding he hold a vote to reopen the government

The Bronx-born progressive later started the hashtag #WheresMitch as they struggled to find McConnell.

She was joined by freshman congresswomen Reps. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, Lauren Underwood of Illinois and Katie Hill of California.

Ocasio-Cortez made it very clear that House Democrats blame McConnell for the shutdown.

She said his refusal to consider several bills passed by the House could have solved the problem long ago. 

‘We have several Republican senators who have agreed to vote to reopen the government – it’s literally Mitch McConnell at this point, this is Mitch McConnell’s problem,’ Ocasio-Cortez said as she broadcasted to her Instagram followers on Tuesday night. 

The letter which freshman Democrats tried to deliver suggests McConnell is choosing to keep the government closed to please Trump and his supporters, in order to get him reelected in 2020. 

It accuses McConnell of ‘holding public servants hostage’. 

The partial government shutdown is in its fourth week with no end in sight, with Trump still demanding $5.7 billion to build a wall along the Mexican border that he says is needed on humanitarian and security grounds. 

The New York lawmaker visits McConnells office - but the elusive Republican was not in 

The New York lawmaker visits McConnells office – but the elusive Republican was not in 

She told her followers on Instagram: 'We're going to pay Mitch McConnell a visit'

She told her followers on Instagram: ‘We’re going to pay Mitch McConnell a visit’

McConnell has refused to table a vote to reopen the government unless he's sure Trump (together) will sign it

McConnell has refused to table a vote to reopen the government unless he’s sure Trump (together) will sign it

Some 800,000 federal workers have went unpaid for a month. Yesterday, President Trump signed a bill guaranteeing they would get back pay for wages lost during the partial shutdown. 

The White House announced Trump signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 on Wednesday behind closed doors.

The legislation signing was shut off to the media and the President made no formal statement.

McConnell has said he won’t bring a bill – to reopen the government – to the Senate floor unless the president will sign it. 

‘We’re all behind the president,’ McConnell said last week after Trump visited Republican senators at the Capitol. ‘We think this border security issue is extremely important to the country.’ 

It comes after Ocasio-Cortez joined the House Financial Services Committee to help regulate Wall Street.

Yesterday, the president signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 which guarantees federal workers will be paid back wages lost due to the shutdown 

Yesterday, the president signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 which guarantees federal workers will be paid back wages lost due to the shutdown 

Progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she had koined the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday

Progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she had koined the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday

The Bronx-born lawmaker said she was excited to begin scrutinizing the financial sector

The Bronx-born lawmaker said she was excited to begin scrutinizing the financial sector

She is expected to increase scrutiny of big banks, lending and the financial sector when she takes up her new role. 

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has previously called for a 70 per cent top tax rate and for the biggest banks to be broken up. 

The progressive confirmed her placement in a tweet on Tuesday night and vowed to inspect the student loan crisis and examine private prisons.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has 2.4 million twitter followers and has the most social media reactions of any Democrat

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has 2.4 million twitter followers and has the most social media reactions of any Democrat

The news of her appointment comes after it was revealed the Latino Democrat has more power on Twitter than any of her party members- including former President Barack Obama.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has generated more interactions – retweets plus likes – on the social media site than party leaders Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

She is second only to the president, Axios found, when it measured the Twitter star power of several politicians. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk