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AOC’s former chief of staff to take a run at ‘paralyzed and unprepared’ Pelosi

February 6, 2025 | | Print Article

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will see a challenger for her seat as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) former chief of staff has announced his bid against her.

The 84-year-old Democrat is serving her 20th term in Congress and refuses to relinquish her hold on California’s 11th Congressional District as she plans to run for re-election in 2026. But Saikat Chakrabarti announced on Wednesday that he will be challenging the “paralyzed and unprepared” former speaker.

“I’ve got some news: I’ve decided to run against Nancy Pelosi to represent San Francisco in Congress,” he shared on social media. “I know some of you might be surprised that Speaker Emeritus Pelosi is running again, but she is — for her 21st term!”

“Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership. I don’t understand how DC’s Democratic leaders are so paralyzed and unprepared for this moment after living through President Trump’s first term — and after Trump and Elon warned us exactly what they planned to do,” wrote the former software engineer who co-founded the political PAC Justice Democrats in 2017.

“I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago. In an interview with Ezra Klein after Trump’s victory, Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree,” Chakrabarti continued in his lengthy post, bringing up his former boss and Pelosi’s moves against her.

“When Democrats were about to appoint their star communicator — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — to chair the powerful Oversight committee to hold Trump and his cronies accountable, Pelosi personally intervened to block it,” Chakrabarti wrote.

In his message, he gave a bit of background on himself and directed supporters to his website as he vowed to run a “very different kind of campaign” and would not accept any corporate political action committee (PAC) money.

“When Nancy Pelosi was first elected to Congress, you could buy a home on a single income. A summer job could pay for college. Republicans believed in climate change and respected election results. Now, the things that defined the American Dream — being able to afford health care, education, a home, and raise a family — are impossible for most people. And the Republican Party is overtly conspiratorial and anti-democracy,” claimed AOC’s former campaign manager.

“The Democratic Party needs to stop acting like it’s competing against a normal political party that plays by the rules, and it needs a bold vision for how to raise living standards, quality of life and security for all Americans. America is stuck, and Americans want real solutions that are as big as the problems we face,” declared the progressive 39-year-old born to immigrant parents from India.

“I know it might seem it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings,” he pointed out.

“Winning this campaign will require months of organizing — online and on the street — to connect with every single voter in San Francisco. I’m excited for the work,” he concluded.

Many social media users who reacted to Chakrabarti’s post expressed skepticism about his chances and many others called out his own history.

Frieda Powers
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