AOC coldly declines to talk about ex-aide running for Congress, fueling rumors of falling out (April 22, 2026)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave a terse response when asked about a former staffer's congressional bid — refusing to engage on the name-dropping former aide, Saikat Chakrabarti, who's splashed the Dem darling's face all over his campaign ads. Ocasio-Cortez was ambushed Monday by a reporter for DropSite who offered her a chance to "clear up" rampant speculation about Chakrabarti, who was her chief of staff for roughly seven months in 2019 and is now running for Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat.