AOC Calls Out Haley Stevens in Blistering Takedown — as She Claims Fellow Democrat Has Been Hanging Out With the GOP
AOC said Stevens 'swore up and down' days earlier that rumors of an endorsement were false before ultimately backing Republican Mike Rogers.
Nov. 13 2026, Published 8:32 p.m. ET
House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has claimed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) has been spending time with Republicans since returning to Congress, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Since endorsing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, Stevens has reportedly been keeping her distance from fellow Democrats, with AOC claiming she has been on the Republican side of the aisle since returning to Congress after the midterm elections.
Private Call Before Republican Endorsement
AOC called Stevens' endorsement of Mike Rogers 'the epitome of a certain kind of transactional politics,'
On The Don Lemon Show on Thursday, November 12, AOC said she spoke with Stevens by phone days before the endorsement became public.
"I spoke to her just days before what happened. I talked to her on the phone. I said, you know, um, I heard this, but is it true? And she swore up and down that it was not true, that her consideration of endorsing Abdul was just a crazy rumor and she would never do something like that," AOC said.
Stevens ultimately backed Rogers after losing the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed.
AOC called the move "the epitome of a certain kind of transactional politics… of like if it’s not me, I'm going to take the whole ship down. And it’s really sad."
Haley Stevens Is on the 'Republican Side of the Aisle'
She asserted Stevens has been 'with the Republicans ever since she’s come back.'
AOC claimed Stevens has been aligning with Republicans since returning to Congress.
"Yeah, she’s been um she’s been with the Republicans ever since she's come back. Um, so she’s been on the the Republican side of the aisle."
The remarks followed questions raised by Democratic Florida candidate Angie Nixon, who was co-hosting with Lemon, about Stevens reportedly spending time in the Republican cloakroom during orientation or voting proceedings.
Those characterizations remain AOC's account and have not been independently verified in the supplied material.
AOC About Haley Stevens: 'This Is About Betrayal’
AOC described announcing the Republican endorsement at a Detroit Black church as 'beyond disrespect.'
AOC also condemned the venue Stevens chose to announce her support for Trump-backed Rogers, a Black church in Detroit.
"This isn’t just about endorsing the Republican. This is about voting against every woman’s right to choose in America. This is about keeping the minimum wage at at less than a living," AOC said. "This is about a betrayal. And to use the black church as the venue for doing that is a level of it’s beyond disrespect. It’s a violation of so much that is sacred, not just spiritually, but in terms of the history of this country.”
Party Unity
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
She said the episode showed why some Democrats preferred Abdul El-Sayed.
She argued the episode validated those who backed El-Sayed in the primary: "It showed that people were right in advocating for Abdul Elsa’s candidacy in the primary over someone like Haley Stevens, where they talk about being a team player, but it's a lot of times people just say I believe in the team coming together for me, but not me coming together for anybody else."
AOC praised Sen. Mallory McMorrow for handling a similar post-primary situation differently.
In the same interview, she reiterated support for Hakeem Jeffries as speaker while urging Democrats to negotiate a first-100-days agenda focused on working people, including bans on congressional stock trading and super PACs, a higher minimum wage, and restoring Civil Rights Act provisions.
