House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a subtle jab towards Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her alleged dependency on Twitter for public support, insinuating that the freshman lawmaker is neglecting to do work required pass the Democratic agenda into laws.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has almost 4 million followers on Twitter and has often used Twitter as a tool to rally public support for her progressive proposals including the Green New Deal.

Ms Pelosi, 79, told USA Today on Monday that she is running into issues of leading a House caucus while freshman Democratic lawmakers are pushing the party further to the left. She accuses them of prioritising symbolic gestures over actual legislative achievements.

“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House,” the California Democrat said.

She did not mention Ms Ocasio-Cortez by name in the interview.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greets fellow lawmakers ahead of the State of the Union address Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez participates in an event with Democratic members of Congress EPA Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures The Democrat senator speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol January 30, 2019 Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fellow Democrat Rashida Tlaib AP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Senate chamber to watch two votes on January 24, 2019 Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arrives with Chellie Pingree at a House Democratic Caucus meeting Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Ocasio-Cortez during Donald Trump's State of the Union address Reuters Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures New York State Assembly member Catalina Cruz with Ocasio-Cortez AFP/Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Nydia Velazquez talks with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reuters Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Ocasio-Cortez casts her vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House EPA Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez poses with a campaign worker during a whistle stop in the Queens borough of New York Reuters Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Ocasio-Cortez outside the US Capitol AFP/Getty Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Ocasio-Cortez after casting her ballot in the 2018 midterm general election at a polling site in New York EPA Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looks on during a march organised by the Women's March Alliance in Manhattan Reuters Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the Democratic congresswoman in pictures Ocasio Cortez looks on at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 16, 2019 AFP/Getty

Ms Pelosi added that she believes progressives are “fine” after she told them they needed to look into introducing moderate legislation that have a higher chance of passing the House.

“As I say to my own district, ‘You go out and elect 218 people, just like San Francisco, then we can talk,’” Ms Pelosi added.

This isn’t the first time the House Speaker derided Ms Ocasio-Cortez. In February, Ms Pelosi scoffed at the Green New Deal, a climate change proposal introduced by the New York Democrat, in an interview with Politico.