“Chuck Schumer is terrified he’s going to get a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” Vice President J.D. Vance claimed Wednesday. “The reason why the American peoples’ government is shut down is because Chuck Schumer is listening to the far-left radicals in his own party because he’s terrified of a primary challenge.”

Vance’s comments echo a broader Republican strategy. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President Donald Trump have all pointed to Ocasio-Cortez as the symbol of Democratic resistance in the funding standoff. They argue she and other progressives are pressuring Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries into making unrealistic demands.

But in an exclusive interview with NBC News, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed those claims.

“They’re saying this stuff about me in the press and the fact of the matter is, in the seven years that I’ve been here, [Republican leaders] have never given me a single phone call, because they know what the truth is,” she said. “They know that the people they need to be negotiating with are Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer.”

Republicans have also fueled speculation that Ocasio-Cortez may launch a Senate bid in 2028, putting direct pressure on Schumer. The congresswoman didn’t rule out the possibility, but said it was irrelevant to the current crisis.

“People are going to die. Nobody cares about some election years from now,” she said. “They care about if their kids can get insulin, if they can put food on the table.”

Despite White House warnings of mass layoffs and deep spending cuts if the shutdown drags on, Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats remain “tremendously united” in their approach.
“It is so important to understand that these people are all talk. They are negotiating with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries,” she said. “Democrats are united to that end.”