One of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) former aides just blasted the current minority leader of the House of Representatives - U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Ashley Etienne did so during a recent interview with Politico.

The big question here is how much of what Etienne had to say, Pelosi would agree with. Jeffries, after all, did appear to be Pelosi's hand-picked successor for Democratic House party leader.

Pelosi, herself, has not commented on the situation.

Jeffries 'squandering' opportunities

In the interview, Etienne essentially tried to argue that Jeffries has proven that he is not up to the task of leading House Democrats. She, among other things, accused Jeffries of "squandering" political opportunities, particularly against President Donald Trump.

She said:

Trump is just giving us all this incredible red meat. I mean, incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like the biggest gift any party has been given by the opposition and we’re just squandering it.

Etienne went on to describe how, in her eyes, Jeffries is failing as the Democratic leader of the House.

"If you don’t have coordination, you’ve just got words on a paper that you’re calling talking points. It’s meaningless. And I think that’s where we are right now," she said.

In other words, she believes that Jefrries is not coordinating enough with Democrats around the country to push anti-Trump messaging.

Pelosi out?

This, however, was not the end of the interview. Etienne went on to make at least one other big revelation, namely, that Jeffries appears to have cut ties with Pelosi, his former mentor.

She said:

I was hearing from leadership staff that the leadership on Capitol Hill right now wants to sort of move away from that Pelosi era — that they … don’t want to embrace anyone or anything that’s like Pelosi. Which I just think is the dumbest s*** ever.

Etienne went on to tout Pelosi as "the baddest in the business," claiming that she had much success in the past under Pelosi's leadership.

Jeffries has responded to the criticism through a spokesperson.

That spokesperson told Fox News:

Donald Trump’s approval ratings are plummeting, and he’s bringing House Republicans down with him. Extreme MAGA Republicans have been forced to delay their plans to advance Trump’s centerpiece legislative priority due to intense backlash against their scheme to enact the largest cuts in history to Medicaid and food assistance. Let’s keep the main thing, the main thing.