“This nomination is deeply shameful. As mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel helped cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald — a mere teenager when he was shot 16 times in the back by a Chicago police officer,” Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, said in a statement. “This alone should be flatly disqualifying for any position of public trust, let alone representing the United States as an ambassador.”

The prominent progressive’s opposition to Emanuel’s nomination comes nearly two weeks after Biden announced the former mayor was his pick for Japan following months of speculation.

Emanuel has declined to comment beyond a statement he released after getting the nod.

He repeatedly has insisted that neither he nor his administration covered up the McDonald shooting, saying the city followed protocol at the time not to release police video of a shooting under investigation.