AOC's Fight for the Future
For her first two years in Washington, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walked the few blocks from her apartment to her congressional office nearly every morning, a routine she felt forced to change after a treasonous mob stormed the Capitol. Now she drives most daysa comically short commute she considers a necessary safety precaution. But for some reasonshes not quite sure whythe congresswoman decided to walk to work on what would become Washingtons most tumultuous morning since the insurrection.
As she reached the Capitol grounds on June 24, a group of men stopped her for a photo. I said Hello and How are you all doing?? shed later recall. Theyre like, Well, you know
Weve definitely been a lot better, given this morning.?
This was how the congresswoman learned that the Supreme Court had gutted the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The ruling had been anticipated for weeksafter a draft opinion from the courts conservative faction leakedbut somehow much of Washington still managed to appear blindsided. Democrats had expected to spend the afternoon celebrating the passage of a new gun control law. Now their day had morphed into a wake.
Out on the steps of the Capitol, a group of lawmakers gathered to sing God Bless America, a preplanned photo op that now read as hopelessly out of touch: Angry Americans were spilling into the streets and elected Democrats were singing campfire songs. Ocasio-Cortez knew where she needed to be. It wasnt at a sing-along.
https://www.gq.com/story/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-october-cover-profile