Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is not ruling out running for higher office.
During an interview with Politico, Ocasio-Cortez shared she would not rule out several options for her political career, including challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in 2024 to which she said, “Don’t ask me that question … print that.”
She shared with the outlet there is a “world where I’m here for a long time in this seat, in this position. There’s a world where I’m not an elected official anymore. There’s a world where … I may be in higher office.”
Ocasio-Cortez also reflected on the time during which her Democratic colleagues were establishing impressions of her without even speaking to her.
She claims it was “reinforced by non-stop leaks of closed-door caucus meetings,” per Politico.
According to Ocasio-Cortez, they “might as well have been broadcast on C-SPAN.”
The lawmaker explained, “One of those things that I really learned during that period was that there was nothing I could do that would dampen that fervor. Whether I participated in it or not, there was just going to be all these stories and all of these things.”
Ocasio-Cortez added, “And so I decided to have agency.”
The Democrat has notably made her way to a top role in the Oversight Committee.
The profile pointed out her rise is partly a result of her work with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
“People don’t see the academic nerd side of her,” Raskin told Politico, adding, “But I totally do, as a professor.”
Some Republicans have even expressed their respect for Ocasio-Cortez.
Commenting on her work with the panel, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said, “She maximizes her five minutes as well as anyone in Congress.”
He added, “She’s always prepared.”
Still, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged it is “understandable when I first arrived, if someone would try to question my substance and my commitment to work, but that commitment has always been there.”