U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks with reporters after the House of Representatives passed its version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) put forward a wild theory about why House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is blocking a bipartisan victims' rights act.
The legislation, called the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, improves the legal rights of victims of AI-generated "deepfakes," which can be used to put real people in sexually compromising positions they were never actually in.
In Ocasio-Cortez's thinking, she told Emma Vigeland on "The Majority Report" podcast, the reason Johnson doesn't want the bill to go through is that it has her own name on it.
"I have bills that are so commonsense that passed committee unanimously, that everyone agrees on, Republicans agree on, Democrats agree on, swing-seat folks agree on," said Ocasio-Cortez. "And having people on my team be told, this can't move because it has her name on it, that has happened in the past, under both party leaderships."
In general, she added, "we find other ways to be effective," so that's not the end of the world. "But I do think that when it comes to this issue, I would really implore Speaker Johnson and Republicans ... we should not allow pedophiles and sexual abusers to run amok because you just don't like a girl. Hot take."
Previous reporting indicated that Republicans particularly don't want an Ocasio-Cortez bill to advance because they are fearful it would bolster her credentials to run for president in 2028.