Ocasio-Cortez applauds Merkley for opposing Rahm Emanuel’s nomination

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) praised Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Wednesday for doing the “right thing” by opposing Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan.

“Thank you @SenJeffMerkley. This was the courageous and right thing to do,” the New York Democrat tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Thank you @SenJeffMerkley. This was the courageous and right thing to do. https://t.co/ERbVQfRtPg

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 3, 2021

Earlier on Wednesday, Merkley said that he would not be supporting the former Chicago mayor’s bid to be the ambassador for Japan amid scrutiny that Emanuel has been facing over his administration’s handling of the police shooting of Laquan McDonald, which occurred while Emanuel was mayor.

“Black Lives Matter. Here in the halls of Congress, it is important that we not just speak and believe these words, but put them into action in the decisions we make. I have carefully considered Mayor Emanuel’s record—and the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh in—and I have reached the decision that I cannot support his nomination to serve as a U.S. Ambassador,” Merkley said in a statement.

“While I respect Mayor Emanuel’s many years of service, and the points of view of my colleagues who have come to a different conclusion, I will be voting ‘no’ when his nomination comes before the committee,” he added.

Emanuel has been under scrutiny for his administration’s handling of the shooting that occurred in October 2014 in which police shot McDonald, a Black teen, 16 times. While Emanuel was mayor of Chicago, dashcam footage of the incident was under wraps for over a year before it was finally made public. 

Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives have blasted the announcement of Emanuel’s nomination. 

“That the Biden administration seeks to reward Emanuel with an ambassadorship is an embarrassment and betrayal of the values we seek to uphold both within our nation and around the world,” the New York Democrat said in a statement in early September. “I urge the Senate to vote NO on his confirmation.”

It is unclear if Emanuel will have the votes to get confirmed given that Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also voted against his nomination, while Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) said they supported it.