In the aftermath of the November 5 presidential election, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed a finger at the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, suggesting its influence might have played a role in the Democratic Party’s underperformance. The New York congresswoman, known for her frequent criticism of Israel, made her remarks in a post on the social media platform X.

“If people want to talk about members of Congress being overly influenced by a special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that pushes voters away from Democrats, then they should be discussing AIPAC,” Ocasio-Cortez, commonly referred to as AOC, wrote on Sunday.

The post was in response to comments made by Jeremy Slavin, a senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, who highlighted the impact of corporate and industry lobbying within the Democratic Party. Slavin wrote, “Weird to have a whole discourse about ‘special interest groups’ that completely leaves out corporate and industry lobbies—by far the most influential ‘groups’ in the Democratic Party.”

AIPAC responded to AOC’s remarks by challenging her claim. The organization posted a fact-check graphic on X, referencing primary election results in New York and Missouri where progressive “Squad” members Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush failed to secure reelection. The graphic aimed to counter Ocasio-Cortez’s assertion about the group’s unpopularity among voters.

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