New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio after he attempted to shame local officials in Miami for gas shortages.
Following a storm that caused flooding in Fort Lauderdale last week, more than half of gas stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area were closed on Wednesday, with some disruptions to operations at Port Everglades.
Rubio responded to this crisis in his state with a video addressed to those who "still can’t figure out how to get enough gasoline to South Florida" days after the storm first hit.
Rubio called the gas shortage "crazy" and said Miami officials "need to get this thing fixed" without offering any solutions himself.
FOUR DAYS and they still can’t figure out how to get enough gasoline to South #Florida #GasShortage pic.twitter.com/P3jdQG6M5r
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 19, 2023
Rubio's tweet soon caught the attention of Ocasio-Cortez, who responded to him with the following blunt reminder:
"Sir, the 'they' here is you. You work in the government."
You can see her tweet below.
Sir, the “they” here is you. You work in the government https://t.co/jOokqflCck
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 20, 2023
Many joined Ocasio-Cortez in criticizing Rubio's response to the crisis in his state.
Governing is harder than owning the libs
— Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) April 20, 2023
Florida is a whole other world man. 😂😂😬
— Vara Sky 💎 (@varaskymusic) April 20, 2023
it's always amazing when a powerful politician is screeching about how "someone should do something about this!!!"
— Amir Talai 🐳 (@AmirTalai) April 20, 2023
it's always amazing when a powerful politician is screeching about how "someone should do something about this!!!"
— Amir Talai 🐳 (@AmirTalai) April 20, 2023
it's always amazing when a powerful politician is screeching about how "someone should do something about this!!!"
— Amir Talai 🐳 (@AmirTalai) April 20, 2023
They don’t send their best…
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 20, 2023
"Government cannot and should not solve problems! Vote for us and make that true!", the GOP for at least the four decades I've been alive.
— I'm not Daredevil (@chrisoconnoriv) April 20, 2023
Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy—a tech company that operates apps and websites based on finding real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the United States and Canada—estimated that 80 percent of station closings were due to panic buying by drivers topping off their gas tanks.
Additionally, data from GasBuddy showed that 59 percent of stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market were closed on Wednesday, up from about 20 percent on Sunday.
However, the closures were due to a surge in demand caused by drivers rushing to stations that were still open, rather than a lack of supply. Other nearby markets are also reporting station outages.
In a recent press release, Rubio made clear he rejects the notion that all Republicans oppose climate-conscious efforts and argued that his party is actually against the Democrats' "fake green agenda."
He emphasized that solar and wind technologies alone cannot provide enough power to keep America running, and President Joe Biden's plan to "end fossil fuels" would result in severe price inflation, impacting the world's poorest people's ability to afford their next meal.
Rubio also warned that transitioning to renewables would "pose threats to basic human rights and the environment, as most renewable supply chains begin and end in poorer nations where companies regularly commit ethical and ecological horrors."
