WASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 30–Oct. 1) – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pushed back on speculation that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s hardline stance in the ongoing budget standoff is motivated by fears she could mount a future primary challenge against him.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes Tuesday night, Hayes directly raised a Capitol Hill theory that Schumer’s refusal to strike a quick budget deal with Republicans was driven by political pressure from his left flank.

“There are some people … who have the following theory: Chuck Schumer is worried about a primary challenge from you … and so, because of that worry, he’s gonna shut down the government. Ergo, it is AOC’s fault that the government is shutting down,” Hayes told Ocasio-Cortez. “Are you planning to primary challenge him? Do you think that’s why he’s doing this?”

Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the idea outright.
“This is so not about me in this moment,” she said. “This is about people being able to insure their children.”

She blasted Republicans for framing her as the fulcrum of the shutdown.
“If we have this shutdown because of me, then my office is open and they’re free to walk in and negotiate directly. But what I’m not going to do is tolerate four million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he wants to just make sure kids are dying because they don’t have access to insurance.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that senators were welcome to “strike a deal” with her directly, but that Democrats would not allow millions of Americans to lose access to insulin and chemotherapy.

Shutdown Fallout and Trump’s Threats

The exchange came as the U.S. government officially entered its first shutdown since 2018. At midnight Wednesday, funding expired without a deal, leaving roughly 750,000 federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay.

The deadlock stems from healthcare subsidies. Democrats are demanding Republicans restore Affordable Care Act subsidies, originally expanded during the pandemic, that kept premiums lower for millions of Americans. GOP leaders, led by Senate Minority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have refused.

President Trump has responded to the shutdown by threatening mass firings.
“We’re going to do things that are irreversible, that are bad,” he warned, adding he would use the moment to “get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want.”

For Schumer, the standoff comes at a precarious political moment. Earlier this year, he angered progressives by supporting a GOP-backed funding bill that extended government operations without delivering Democratic priorities.

Now, with Democrats holding firm on healthcare and Republicans refusing concessions, the showdown has no clear end in sight.