Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two of her “Squad” allies were appointed Tuesday to the House oversight committee, giving the legislators a valuable perch to influence President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
Ocasio-Cortez, author of the Green New Deal, recently was denied her request for a seat on the House energy and commerce committee. Democrats voted 46-13 to instead appoint centrist New York Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice.
But the oversight committee appointment, announced Tuesday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will allow the self-labeled socialist to push Biden and his appointees on adoption or implementation of policies across the federal bureaucracy.
The 31-year-old legislator, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, will be joined on the committee by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was an original member of Ocasio-Cortez’s four-person “Squad,” also called “AOC plus three.”
Former St Louis area protest organizer Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who posed for a celebratory “Squad” expansion photo as she was sworn in on Sunday,
