Who saw this one coming?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) weighed in on Twitter today on the issue of former members of Congress becoming lobbyists. She doesn’t like it and wants the practice stopped – for good:

If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check.

I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress.

At minimum there should be a long wait period. https://t.co/xMu9Mwmdm6

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2019

Not long after she tweeted that, she received support from an unexpected source: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). In response to her tweet, Cruz said:

Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation? https://t.co/jPW0xkH2Yy

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 30, 2019

Then a rare collegial back and forth of sorts ensued:

.@tedcruz if you’re serious about a clean bill, then I’m down.

Let’s make a deal.

If we can agree on a bill with no partisan snuck-in clauses, no poison pills, etc – just a straight, clean ban on members of Congress becoming paid lobbyists – then I’ll co-lead the bill with you. https://t.co/AZTbmdSexv

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2019

—

You’re on. https://t.co/S3TBfNeO3Q

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 30, 2019

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz (HI) also expressed support:

IN.

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 30, 2019

And Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21) signed on:

Happy to lead or otherwise co-sponsor in the House, @AOC and @tedcruz. https://t.co/48JFv3IGrx

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 30, 2019

Sarah at Twitchy notes that there is all kinds of confusion on Twitter between conservatives and liberals on this but that it looks like everyone is rolling with it (for now).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Rumors are swirling that Ocasio-Cortez plans on endorsing Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (MA) presidential candidacy. Why is that relevant to this story? Because Warren has already proposed a Congressional lobbying ban that is quite expansive:

Other lawmakers have expressed the concerns as Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez, most notably presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

She introduced a bill that includes a lifetime ban on lobbying by former lawmakers, presidents and top executive branch appointees.

(See more on Warren’s proposed legislation via Reason)

Is this a backdoor way for self-described Democratic socialist AOC to help the uber-liberal Warren earn some rare bipartisanship credibility alongside the solidly conservative Cruz? Or does Cruz himself have an ace up his sleeve?

Stay tuned…

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—Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter.–