AOC: considering Rahm Emanuel for cabinet ‘hostile’ to progressive wing

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to the media after a public housing town hall on August 29, 2019 in the Bronx. Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Arno Rosenfeld November 9, 2020

Progressives are coming out swinging against the prospective appointment of Rahm Emanuel to President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Monday that appointing Emanuel to the cabinet would “signal… a hostile approach to the grass-roots and the progressive wing of the party,” reported The New York Times.

Emanuel is being considered for transportation secretary, reported Politico.

Emanuel, the Jewish former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, is widely loathed by racial justice advocates for how he handled the police murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald while mayor of Chicago. McDonald, who was black, was shot 16 times while walking away from police officers in 2014. But Emanuel and the city government refused to release dashboard camera footage of the incident until following his reelection the next year. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was eventually convicted of second-degree murder in the case.

“We must govern with integrity and accountability, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter Monday. “Laquan McDonald’s life mattered.”

Emanuel has been hounded by critics since his second term as mayor ended last year. The Atlantic magazine offered and then rescinded a contributing editor position to Emanuel after he left office, following outcry from black staff members. He has since joined ABC News as a contributor and also works Wall Street investment firm Clearview Partners.

Eric Garcetti, the Jewish mayor of Los Angeles, is considered to be the favorite for transportation secretary and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, is also being considered, according to Politico.

Arno Rosenfeld is enterprise reporter at the Forward, where he covers antisemitism, philanthropy, sexual misconduct and American Jewish politics. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @arnorosenfeld.

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