Who?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
LISTEN: Laslo & AOC
Ask a Pol asks:
What do you make of this push to finally close Rikers?
Key AOC:
“We’ve been pushing to close Rikers for quite some time now,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez exclusively tells Ask a Pol Politics founder Matt Laslo.
“We’ve been leading also not just about closing Rikers, but what we turn it into. The community has long been drafting a renewable Rikers plan to make sure that we not just address the toxic injustice — criminal injustice and the environmental injustice on the island — but also turn it into a fountain of real change.”
Caught our ear:
“We got a lot of things to work on as a city,” Ocasio-Cortez tells us. “But I know [NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s] on the right side.”
What should we ask Congress next?
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (4-16-2026)
SCENE: As the last few minutes of a vote tick down on the floor of the US House of Representatives, Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo spots Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two aides walking up to the US Capitol.
Laslo snags this exclusive before the rest of the congressional press corps notices AOC and pounces on Laslo’s exclusive.
Matt Laslo: “What do you make of this push to finally close Rikers?”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “I mean, we’ve been pushing to close Rikers for quite some time now.”
Laslo: “Yeah.”
AOC: “And, you know, we’ve been leading also not just about closing Rikers, but what we turn it into.”
Laslo: “Yeah.”
AOC: “The community has long been drafting a renewable Rikers plan to make sure that we not just address the toxic injustice — criminal injustice and the environmental injustice on the island — but also turn it into a fountain of real change.”
Laslo: “Does the mayor get that?”
AOC: “Pardon?”
Laslo: “Is this high up on his agenda list?”
AOC: “Oh yeah. We got a lot of things to work on as a city.”
Laslo: “Fair.”
Laslo laughs.
AOC: “But I know he’s on the right…”
Fox News producer: “Miss Ocasio, what do you…?”
AOC: “…side.”
Laslo: “Thank you.”
AI Disclosure:
Ask a Pol’s playing around with as many new AI tools as we can, so this small, unfunded startup can compete in today’s new media landscape. (generative) AI isn’t tomorrow’s tech — it’s yesterday’s…
