--- title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: House Speech Breaks C-SPAN Record description: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's first speech from the House floor has set a new record with C-SPAN canonical: https://time.com/5506749/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-house-speech-cspan-record/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-18T13:49:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:20:23.198Z article:section: Politics og:title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record og:description: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's first speech from the House floor has set a new record with C-SPAN og:url: https://time.com/5506749/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-house-speech-cspan-record/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19d2992ae90fe3d1/69894091929fad6cb5bf23a0/gettyimages-1075023604.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4852 og:image:height: 2729 og:image:alt: House Administration Committee Holds New Member Orientation And Room Lottery Draw og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record twitter:description: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's first speech from the House floor has set a new record with C-SPAN twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19d2992ae90fe3d1/69894091929fad6cb5bf23a0/gettyimages-1075023604.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record. Here's What She Said > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cc8851eb-f06d-4f9f-935a-75fd0036b67a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meet the Freshmen of America's Most Diverse Congress [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Freshmen of America's Most Diverse Congress](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rZtlZdzp.m3u8) (3:35)  _Published 2019-01-09. New members of the 116th Congress—including Deb Haaland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dan Crenshaw, and Rashida Tlaib—talk to TIME about being part of the most diverse freshman class and the unique perspectives they bring._ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 18, 2019 1:49 PM UTC New members of the 116th Congress—including Deb Haaland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dan Crenshaw, and Rashida Tlaib—talk to TIME about being part of the most diverse freshman class and the unique perspectives they bring. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 18, 2019 1:49 PM UTC Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s first speech from the House floor has set a minor record with C-SPAN. Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Trump Administration over the partial government shutdown in her remarks. A C-SPAN tweet of her nearly four-minute speech garnered 1.16 million views in a little more than 12 hours, setting a record for the most-watched Twitter video from the outlet of any remarks by a House member, according to a tweet from Howard Mortman, C-SPAN’s communications director. By Friday morning, it had surpassed 2.3 million views, with more than 13,000 retweets and over 46,000 likes. > [](https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1085950970092310528) In her speech, Ocasio-Cortez shared a story about one of her constituents in the Bronx who works as an air traffic controller currently missing pay due to the government shutdown. “His job is to find solutions, analyze and adapt in real time to keep people safe in one of the busiest air spaces in the United States and the world,” she said. “And it is terrifying to think that almost every single air traffic controller in the United States is currently distracted at work because they don’t know when their next paycheck is coming.” > [](https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1085737193564504066) Ocasio-Cortez criticized President Donald Trump over the shutdown, which has been in place since December 22 after the government failed to pass a spending bill that included funding for a border wall. “It is actually not about a wall, it is not about the border, and it is certainly not about the well-being of everyday Americans,” she said. “The truth is, this shutdown is about the erosion of American democracy and the subversion of our most basic governmental norms.” She added: “Each and every member of this body has a responsibility to this nation and to everyone in the United States of America, whether they voted for us or not. And this president shares in that responsibility as well, which means he has a responsibility to my constituent.” ## Transcript Happy New Year family! We had this huge influx of new voices, new ideas and perspectives that have not, really ever, been heard in this body. It felt like government was not designed for young people to succeed, for women to succeed, for working class people to succeed. I think I've actually been surprised by the possibility of it. [ INAUDIBLE ] We're getting younger and more colorful. It is reminiscent of being in highschool. You're walking around not remembering people's names, and you're worried that someone doesn't like you. But, I have a feeling I think, I hope I'm more popular here than I was in highschool. Fingers crossed! [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] That's it, you guys did it. [ LAUGH ] There is no substitute for experience. We have to respect and value and learn from that experience. But there's also no substitute for energy and a new way of looking at things. We have a different sense about what is possible. We are going to see changes in process. We're going to see changes in policy. There has never been a voice To advocate for the things that Native Americans need. And we have the third poorest congressional district in the country. I've lived that experience. Growing up upstate, working class kid, went off to Oxford as a road scholar then to get my law degree. This was largely a class that didn't come from politics, and leadership is just connecting with people and trying to inspire people. That's just what running for office is. And that's also what it means to lead a SEAL time. I worked as a CIA case officer, so I worked undercover for the entirety of my time with the agency. I was a prosecutor in Iraq in the Navy JAG corps. I have a background in the United States Navy, but I'm also a mom. Being a mom is really helpful cuz sometimes it seems like there are a lot of squabbles between members of Congress that remind me of my kids fighting. After I won, I got another text from a republican supporter who said please take your blue jeans to Washington, DC. [ LAUGH ] And I just want to stay who I am. And so did you take your blue jeans? Of course. [ LAUGH ] I'm a republican, I'm a fiscal conservative, but more than that I'm a millennial. As a younger member, I I'm really looking at things with a long- term perspective. What is the America I'm going to live in when I'm fifty- nine, which is thirty years from now. Democrats and Republicans have been running on the exact same thing for more than two years now. They've been running on draining the swamp- They've been running on lowering health care costs, they've been running on big, bold, grand infrastructure projects. They've been running on defending Medicare ans Social Security. Now all we are saying is let's do it. The job is to act, to do, not to think about what can or cannot be done per se, but to do it and to figure out how to get it done. The freshmen, we are quarter of the Democratic caucus. We're a quarter of the Congress. They literally can't pass anything if we're not on board. There has to be consideration of our perspective. The door is open. The ceiling's broken now. So, I intend to leave the ladder down. I want other native women, women of color, And women to run for office, to know that they can succeed, and I'll be there to make sure that they do. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5506749/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-house-speech-cspan-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5506749/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-house-speech-cspan-record/"},"headline":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record. 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