Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wondered how a Republican chastised Rep. Clay Higgins for his rude treatment of a female witness during a climate hearing Thursday.
AOC accused the Louisiana congressman and other GOPers on the House Oversight Committee of disrespecting Raya Salter, a lawyer and clean energy advocate, during her testimony on corporations and climate change.
Higgins and Salter got into a tense, and times, shouting exchange. At one point, Higgins even called Salter “boo” as he pushed her to answer his question.
“Frankly men who treat women like that in public, I fear how they treat them in private,” Ocasio-Cortez said as she pounded her fist on the dais. “We can be better than this, we don’t have to resort to yelling.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who reps Queens and the Bronx, later expressed regret on behalf of the committee.
“I would hope that someone would issue you an apology, but because I don’t believe (Higgins) will, I want to apologize to you about the conduct of this committee,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Higgins, who’s been in office since 2017, earlier asked Salter what she would do with all the material items she has from petrochemical products.
Salter then implored Higgins to “search your heart and understand why the EPA knows that toxic petrochemical facilities are some of the most toxic polluting facilities in the world and are killing black people throughout Louisiana.”
“My good lady, I’m trying to give you the floor, boo,” Higgins told Salter, who is also a law professor and member of the New York State Climate Action Council.
The two raised their voices at each other during the hearing that focused on the oil and gas companies’ contribution to climate change.
Salter again encouraged Higgins to search his heart and “ask your God what you are doing to the black and poor people in Louisiana.”
He also called Salter “young lady” and told her she has “a lot of noise, but you got no answers.”
Ocasio-Cortez said Higgins’ behavior is something she hadn’t previously seen since she began on the House Oversight committee four years ago.
“I do not care what party they are in,” AOC said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
