A new book reveals that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., squared off with Planned Parenthood in a dispute that eventually left her “floored” as she faced resistance on eliminating the Hyde Amendment, a top liberal priority.
“The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution” by The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, which was released on Tuesday, provides an insider account of the progressive movement, specifically the “Squad.” One chapter describes a series of events beginning in spring 2019 where presidential candidate Joe Biden was facing “intense backlash” from his party for defending the Hyde Amendment, barring federal money for paying for abortions, and Ocasio-Cortez noted that the amendment was still in the Democrat appropriations bill.
“Let’s take it out,” Ocasio-Cortez is said to have told her colleagues, since the Hyde Amendment was widely opposed by most Democrats and it “seemed like an easy one,” according to Grim’s book, with some Democrats thinking it was left in the bill by mistake.
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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ocasio-Cortez soon learned that it wasn’t a mistake, and she was reportedly told by fellow Democrats, including Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, that Senate Republicans and President Trump would never go along with a bill that stripped the Hyde Amendment so she should drop the idea.
That’s when Ocasio-Cortez is said to have approached Planned Parenthood and, much to her chagrin, her former aide Dan Riffle was met with resistance.
“AOC’s staff reached out to natural allies on the issue, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL, Pro-Choice America the biggest pro-choice players on the Hill,” Grim wrote. “Publicly, they were strident opponents of the Hyde Amendment and had lambasted Biden for his support of it. Riffle first spoke with Jacqueline Ayers, the top lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, and was surprised to learn that the organization did not want Democrats to try and remove the Hyde Amendment. Planned Parenthood’s reasoning was similar to DeLauro’s: we don’t have the votes in the Senate so we’ll lose.”
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Planned Parenthood’s mega-abortion center in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)
Riffle, according to the book, was told that Planned Parenthood would have to “score” the vote and push Democrats to oppose it if the Hyde Amendment were in it, since that was a stated goal of theirs, and that would force them to give Democrats a bad score, which could hurt their re-election chances.
“But Riffle argued, ‘Isn’t it your mission to repeal Hyde and protect abortion rights?’” the book details. “‘Yes,’ she told him. ‘But we can’t do that if Democrats lose the majority so protecting them is the first order of business.’”
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U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
After being told by NARAL that they agreed with Planned Parenthood, Riffle relented but said he did not agree with the strategy and was “discouraged” by it.
Shortly afterward, Biden reversed his position on the Hyde Amendment in an Atlanta speech.
“Ocasio-Cortez was floored,” Grim wrote. “How was Joe Biden to the left of Planned Parenthood and NARAL on abortion rights? It made no sense.”
“They’re one-daying us,” former top AOC aide Ariel Eckblad said, according to Grim.
Grim wrote that AOC continued to “push” the abortion rights group, and they reached out to her directly to set up a meeting with women of color who support abortion, hoping that they could “sway” her.
“At the last minute, AOC didn’t show up, sending an aide instead,” Grim wrote. “She was still intent on repeal.”
Grim wrote that AOC eventually worked with fellow squad member Ayanna Pressley to introduce an amendment that ultimately failed to make waves.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., right, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., conduct a news conference on the Women’s Health Protection Act outside of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, September 24, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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“Ocasio-Cortez spoke to Pressley, who was the chair of a caucus dedicated to promoting abortion rights, and agreed to cede the issue to her,” Grim wrote. “Pressley ended up writing an amendment that, for procedural reasons, was expected not to get through the rules committee. That would allow opponents of Hyde to make a run at it without forcing a vote or even a debate on the floor.”
“As expected, the Pressley amendment was rejected before it could get to the floor. A Planned Parenthood official followed up by complaining to Ocasio-Cortez’s office that Riffle had been too gruff on the phone.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Planned Parenthood but did not immediately receive a response.