Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Gets Just 1 Minute To Deliver Remarks At The DNC

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), one of the most prominent and outspoken progressives in the Democratic Party , will have just one minute to deliver remarks at the virtual Democratic National Convention next week.

The lawmakers address will be 60 seconds long, her spokesperson told HuffPost. Shes scheduled to speak on Tuesday. She will prerecord the address from her base in New York and write it herself with the blessing of the Democratic National Committee , according to Business Insider , which first reported the news.

Ocasio-Cortez eloquently acknowledged the limited time slot, tweeting a poem by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, I have only just a minute. The late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) recited it during his first floor speech to Congress in 1996.

I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.

Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
(and recited by Elijah Cummings) https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez","author_url":"https://twitter.com/AOC","cache_age":86400,"description":"I only have a minute.Sixty seconds in it.Forced upon me, I did not choose it,But I know that I must use it.Give account if I abuse it.Suffer, if I lose it.Only a tiny little minute,But eternity is in it.- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays(and recited by Elijah Cummings) https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1293679481228595200","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5f347b56c5b6960c06702042","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-dnc-speech_n_5f347b56c5b6960c06702042","entryTagsList":"politics,2020-election,democrats,alexandria-ocasio-cortez,democratic-national-committee,democratic-national-convention","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news,women,latino-voices","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/c7df9e2e-515b-4856-acb0-78f31489a586/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5f347b56c5b6960c06702042","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics"},"relegenceSubjectId":982065,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics News","slug":"politics-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-news"},{"name":"2020 election","slug":"2020-election","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2020-election","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2020-election","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2020-election"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2020 Election","slug":"2020-election","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2020-election"},{"name":"Democrats","slug":"democrats","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/democrats","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/democrats","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/democrats"},"relegenceId":4006633,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Democratic Party","slug":"democratic-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/democratic-party"},{"name":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ","slug":"alexandria-ocasio-cortez","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/alexandria-ocasio-cortez","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/alexandria-ocasio-cortez","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/alexandria-ocasio-cortez"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez","slug":"alexandria-ocasio-cortez","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/alexandria-ocasio-cortez"},{"name":"democratic national committee","slug":"democratic-national-committee","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/democratic-national-committee","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/democratic-national-committee","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/democratic-national-committee"},"relegenceId":3529215,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Democratic National Committee","slug":"democratic-national-committee","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/democratic-national-committee"},{"name":"Democratic National Convention","slug":"democratic-national-convention","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/democratic-national-convention","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/democratic-national-convention","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/democratic-national-convention"},"relegenceId":4325940,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Democratic National Convention","slug":"democratic-national-convention","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/democratic-national-convention"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.

Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
(and recited by Elijah Cummings) https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020

The convention, where presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is slated to formally accept his presidential nomination, will be a dramatically scaled-back version of an event that typically draws tens of thousands of people to mark the start of the general election campaign.

Rumblings that Ocasio-Cortez might be left off the DNC speaking roster altogether galled progressives and set off a debate among Democrats in the lead-up to the decision. Politico reported last week that her supporters felt Ocasio-Cortez deserved a prominent speaking spot, given her role leading Bidens climate task force and her ability to energize younger voters. However, some moderate Democrats reportedly expressed concerns a prime-time speaking slot would fuel the Trump campaigns efforts to cast Biden as a vessel for the left.

Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez co-chaired Bidens unity climate change task force with former Secretary of State John Kerry. She was appointed to the panel as a representative of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whom she endorsed during his race for the Democratic nomination.

It would be stupid not to give her a slot, Corbin Trent, a former top adviser to Ocasio-Cortez, told Politico. Shes one of the best speakers the Democratic Partys got.

And Winnie Wong, a prominent activist and former adviser to the Sanders campaign, tweeted last week: You want Bill Clinton to speak but maybe not AOC. Okay, dummies.

The four-day convention will also feature remarks from Democrats like former first lady Michelle Obama , Sanders, Kerry, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

It appears that other members from the Squad of progressive first-time lawmakers Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) are not on the speaking schedule.