Say it ain’t so!
But it is so, as the most progressive Democratic and most conservative Republican members of congress have joined hands and have vowed to work together towards a common legislative goal.
The political world shook as Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) agreed to join efforts to permanently ban former members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists.
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The news that AOC and Cruz had joined forced spread like wildfire across social media.
Now Sen. Brian Schatz (D) is onboard in the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Chip Roy (R), who recently blocked disaster relief legislation, has decided to join the AOC/Cruz anti-lobbyist fiesta, saying that he was “happy to lead or cosponsor” the effort in the House.
This rare magical, bipartisan moment in Washington came about after Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez tangled on Twitter, but then realized that they both agreed on at least one issue.
The news of the unlikely political partnership was “music to the ears” of Florida Senator Rick Scott (R), who introduced his BLAST Act this past March. The BLAST Act specifically bans former legislators from going back to Washington to cash in on their past influence.
The bill does not prevent spouses of former members of congress from lobbying, but that doesn’t matter, for now. From the looks of it, this legislation would pass with flying colors in both chambers of congress.
Shortly after the entire U.S. Senate voted against the Green New Deal, which is Ocasio-Cortez’s signature and legacy legislation, Cruz penned a scathing rebuke to the measure.
“I voted against moving forward with the Green New Deal. But beyond the fate of this particular bill or jokes about its content, it is worth addressing the policy goals and consequences of the Green New Deal on their own merits. These ideas are eternally popular among politicians who seek more government control over free markets and more power over people’s lives, and we will see them again one day in new clothing.” -Cruz op-ed on Fox News
Okay, with @brianschatz + @tedcruz we’ve got at least one D-R team in the Senate to ban members becoming lobbyists, & myself w/ @chiproytx makes at least one D-R team in the House.
And that’s just in a few hours – there will surely be more from both parties to sign on.
Nice 👍🏽 https://t.co/52r8cL7RBR
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2019
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