AOC says lawmakers’ relationship with Zients is still a work in progress

Politics

Progressive lawmakers’ relationship with the White House has “shifted pretty significantly” since chief of staff Jeff Zients replaced Ron Klain earlier this year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told POLITICO’s Playbook Deep Dive.

“I do think it has shifted pretty significantly. I don’t think it’s a similar dynamic,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a podcast episode released Friday.

In January, it was announced that Klain would depart the White House as the longest-serving first chief of staff for any Democratic president. Zients took over in February at a time of a divided government, an increasingly contentious debt ceiling fight and the upcoming launch of a reelection campaign.