Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow progressive Democratic lawmakers openly declared at a Thursday rally they would fight to push President-elect Joe Biden to the left — and vowed they would secure a Green New Deal.
Speaking outside the party’s Washington, DC, headquarters, the growing group formerly known as “the Squad” said they weren’t a fad and that the nation wanted action on climate change.
“We have champions, like Mondaire Jones, like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, that are now being ushered into this new wave,” said Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), referring to a trio of freshman lawmakers including Bowman, who defeated New York Democratic stalwart Eliot Engel, powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“They’re not a flash in the pan, they’re not a hot new thing,” AOC continued.
“What it shows is a deep yearning for climate justice and environmental action in the United States of America.”
The Democratic socialist said she would hold Biden accountable as the party experiences a fierce identity crisis and a vicious round of finger-pointing after its lackluster performance in congressional races.
Biden, who turns 78 on Friday, has maintained he is his own man and will not be beholden to the band of increasingly influential progressive personalities in the party.
But on Thursday, AOC, flanked by climate activists, vowed that she would make the Biden administration “keep its promises” to deliver a sweeping environmental effort.
“I don’t want anyone here to think we are not winning. We are winning. We are going to secure the tenets of a Green New Deal,” she said.
Directly addressing Biden, Congresswoman-elect Bush of Missouri said the incoming president needed to remember who sent him to the White House.
“I think we need to make sure something is very clear: When we don’t act, people who look like me die,” said Bush, who is black.
“Black and brown communities showed up for you. Show up for us.”