Taking office at age 29, Ocasio-Cortez is
the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress, and also the youngest member of the
116th Congress. When the 116th Congress convened on January 3, 2019, Ocasio-Cortez entered with no
seniority but with a large social media presence.
Axios credited her with "as much social media clout as her fellow freshman Democrats combined". , she has 13.1 million
Twitter followers, up from 1.4 million in November 2018. and 1.8 million on Facebook. Ocasio-Cortez is also the most followed user on
Bluesky, with 2 million followers as of March 2025. Her colleagues appointed her to teach them social media lessons upon her arrival in Congress. In July 2019, two lawsuits were filed against her for blocking
Joey Salads and
Dov Hikind on Twitter in light of the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that it was a violation of the
First Amendment for
President Trump to block people on Twitter. On November 4, 2019, it was announced that the lawsuit had been settled; Ocasio-Cortez issued an apology. In a 2019 interview, Ocasio-Cortez said she had stopped using her private Facebook account and was minimizing her usage of all social media accounts and platforms, calling them a "public health risk".
Arrival In November 2018, on the first day of congressional orientation, Ocasio-Cortez participated in a
climate change protest outside the office of
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Also that month, she backed Pelosi's bid to be
Speaker of the House on the condition that Pelosi "remains the most progressive candidate for speaker". in December 2018 When Ocasio-Cortez made her first speech on the floor of Congress in January 2019,
C-SPAN tweeted the video. Within 12 hours, the video of her speech set the record as C-SPAN's most-watched Twitter video of a member of the
House of Representatives.
Hearings In February 2019, speaking at a
congressional hearing with a panel of representatives from
campaign finance watchdog groups, Ocasio-Cortez questioned the panel about ethics regulations as they apply to both the president and members of Congress. She asserted that no regulations prevent lawmakers "from being bought off by wealthy corporations". With more than 37.5 million views, the clip became the most-watched political video posted on Twitter. When President
Donald Trump's former lawyer
Michael Cohen appeared before the
Oversight Committee in February 2019, Ocasio-Cortez asked him whether Trump had inflated property values for bank or insurance purposes. Cohen's reply implied that Trump may have committed
tax and
bank fraud. The president of the
American Constitution Society named Ocasio-Cortez as the committee member best at obtaining specific information from Cohen about Trump's "shady practices, along with a road map for how to find out more".
New York Times columnist
David Brooks praised her skill in questioning Cohen. The exchange between Ocasio-Cortez and Cohen prompted an investigation by
New York attorney general Letitia James, who referred to it in August 2020 when filing legal action to compel Trump's companies to comply with subpoenas about financial information, and to compel his son
Eric Trump to testify. Further developments as a result of the exchange saw James form a
civil investigation and lawsuit against
the Trump Organization regarding potential financial fraud, which resulted in a fine of $354 million and a ban on Trump doing business in New York for two to three years.
Media coverage , 2019 According to reports in March 2019, Ocasio-Cortez continued to receive media coverage early in her congressional tenure on par with that of
2020 presidential candidates and was considered "one of the faces of the Democratic party" and one of the most talked-about politicians in the United States. Between July 8 and 14, 2019, she drew more social media attention than the Democratic presidential candidates. Tracking company
NewsWhip found that interactions with news articles on Ocasio-Cortez numbered 4.8 million, while no Democratic presidential candidate got more than 1.2 million. David Bauder of the
Associated Press wrote that Trump's supporters were thus having "some success" in having "Ocasio-Cortez be top of mind when people think of" the Democratic Party. According to a
Media Matters for America study, Ocasio-Cortez was intensely discussed on sister television channels
Fox News and
Fox Business, being mentioned every day from February 25 to April 7, 2019, for a total of 3,181 mentions in 42 days.
The Guardian David Smith wrote that this is evidence that Fox is "obsessed by Ocasio-Cortez, portraying her as a radical socialist who threatens the American way of life".
Brian Stelter of
CNN Business found that between January and July 2019, she had nearly three times as many mentions on
Fox News as on
CNN and
MSNBC. Stelter wrote that the attention Ocasio-Cortez is receiving has caused "the perception, particularly on the right, that her positions and policies are representative of the Democratic Party as a whole". In March 2019,
Time Magazine said Ocasio-Cortez was the "second-most talked about politician" in the United States, after Trump, and called her "the
Wonder Woman of the left". By July 2019, the fake material included attributing things Trump said to Ocasio-Cortez, such as "I have a very good brain and I've said lots of things." On July 18, 2019, Charlie Rispoli, a police officer from
Gretna, Louisiana, posted on Facebook an apparent threat to shoot Ocasio-Cortez, calling her a "vile idiot" who "needs a round, and I don't mean the kind she used to serve" as a bartender. Rispoli posted the comment in response to a
fake news article that falsely quoted Ocasio-Cortez as saying, "We pay soldiers too much". Rispoli was fired for his post and his Facebook account was deleted. Ocasio-Cortez is known to wear red lipstick, usually by the American makeup brand
Stila Cosmetics in the shade "Beso", as a style trait of
Latina women from the Bronx. In a skincare tutorial for
Vogue, she explained that beauty and femininity are important to her because these things are often used against women in politics and society, and that
self-love is like a "mini protest" against
misogynistic critiques.
Met Gala appearance Ocasio-Cortez attended the 2021
Met Gala, which had the theme "In America: a
Lexicon of Fashion". The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the
Metropolitan Museum of Art that is overseen by
Vogue editor-in-chief
Anna Wintour, who selects every invitee and designer pairing. Ocasio-Cortez wore an
organza gown emblazoned with the phrase "
Tax the Rich". As an elected official in New York City, she was considered a guest of the museum, and as such did not have to buy a ticket, which costs persons other than elected officials at least . In response, Ocasio-Cortez said her critics were using a sexist double standard and that she "punctured the fourth wall of excess and spectacle". Designer
Aurora James also said the extremely wealthy people in attendance needed to see the message in person. In September 2021, the
American Accountability Foundation filed an ethics complaint against Ocasio-Cortez for attending the Met Gala. The AAF claimed that her attendance amounted to accepting an illegal gift since her estimated $35,000 ticket was paid for by
Condé Nast, a for-profit company, not a charity. In July 2025, the
House Ethics Committee found that Ocasio-Cortez violated House rules by failing to pay the full market value for her attire, accessories, and services, and by improperly accepting free admission to the gala for her fiancé, during her attendance at the gala; although she proactively attempted to comply with ethics requirements and there was no evidence of willful misconduct, she was ordered to pay approximately $3,000 to settle the matter and avoid being sanctioned.
"The Squad" Ocasio-Cortez is a member of an informal group of
progressive members of Congress called "
the Squad", initially including
Ilhan Omar,
Ayanna Pressley, and
Rashida Tlaib. On July 14, 2019, Trump attacked the Squad (which had only four members at the time) in a tweet, saying that they should "go back and help fix" the countries they came from rather than criticize the American government. He continued to make similar comments over the next several days, even though three of the women, including Ocasio-Cortez, were born in the United States. Ocasio-Cortez responded in a tweet that "the President's words [yesterday], telling four American Congresswomen of color 'go back to your own country' is
hallmark language of
white supremacists." She later added, "We don't leave the things that we love, and when we love this country, what that means is that we propose the solutions to fix it." Days later, Trump falsely asserted that Ocasio-Cortez called "our country and our people 'garbage; she had actually said that Americans should not be content with moderate policies that are "10% better from garbage". Trump also falsely claimed that Ocasio-Cortez said "illegal immigrants are more American" than Americans who tried to keep them out; she actually said that "women and children on that border that are trying to seek refuge and opportunity" in America "are acting more American" than those who tried to keep them out. The Squad grew in 2020, 2022, and 2024, with
Jamaal Bowman,
Cori Bush,
Greg Casar,
Summer Lee, and
Delia Ramirez joining.
Green New Deal Ocasio-Cortez submitted her first piece of legislation,
the Green New Deal, to the House on February 7, 2019. She and Senator
Ed Markey released a joint
non-binding resolution laying out the main elements of a 10-year "economic mobilization" that "would phase out
fossil fuel use and overhaul the nation's infrastructure". According to
CNBC, an initial outline the Green New Deal called for "completely ditching fossil fuels, upgrading or replacing 'every building' in the country and 'totally overhaul[ing] transportation' to the point where 'air travel stops becoming necessary'". The outline set a goal of having the United States "creating '
net zero' greenhouse gases in 10 years. Why 'net zero'? The lawmakers explained: 'We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren't sure that we'll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast.'" Activist groups such as
Greenpeace and the
Sunrise Movement came out in favor of the plan. No Republican lawmakers voiced support. The plan gained support from some Democratic senators, including
Elizabeth Warren,
Bernie Sanders, and
Cory Booker; On March 26, Senate Republicans called for an early vote on the Green New Deal without allowing discussion or expert testimony. Markey said Republicans were trying to "make a mockery" of the debate and called the vote a "sham". In protest, Senate Democrats voted "
present" or against the bill, resulting in a 57–0 defeat on the Senate floor. In March 2019, a group of UK
activists proposed that the
Labour Party adopt a similar plan, "Labour for a Green New Deal". The group said it was inspired by the
Sunrise Movement and the work Ocasio-Cortez has done in the US.
Harassment On July 20, 2020, U.S. representatives
Ted Yoho and
Roger Williams accosted Ocasio-Cortez on the
Capitol steps, where Yoho (as overheard by a journalist) called her "disgusting" and told her "You are out of your freaking mind" for recently suggesting that poverty and unemployment were driving a spike in crime in New York City during the
COVID-19 pandemic amid her ongoing advocacy for cutting police budgets. Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho that he was being "rude". As she walked away from Yoho into the Capitol, Yoho called her a "fucking bitch". Yoho
addressed the matter on the House floor and, without naming Ocasio-Cortez, apologized for the "abrupt manner of the conversation" with her, claiming that "offensive name calling, words attributed to me by the press, were never spoken to my colleagues", and concluding: "I cannot apologize for my passion". Ocasio-Cortez
responded with a speech saying that the incident was emblematic of a "culture ... accepting of violence and violent language against women ... In using that language, in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable." In November 2021, Representative
Paul Gosar posted a version of the
title sequence of the
anime series
Attack on Titan on social media that he had edited with the faces of Ocasio-Cortez,
Joe Biden, and himself superimposed on the show's characters, depicting Gosar attacking them with swords and killing Ocasio-Cortez. Speaker
Nancy Pelosi called for law enforcement and the
House Ethics Committee to investigate it as a threat. Pelosi opened discussion on the House floor, saying that Gosar's actions demanded a response: "We cannot have members joking about murdering each other or threatening the president of the United States. This is both an indictment of our elected officials and an insult to the institution of the House of Representatives. It's not just about us as members of Congress. It is a danger that it represents to everyone in the country." When Republican House members refused to condemn the video, Ocasio-Cortez responded that she believed the video was "part of a pattern that normalizes violence", adding, "I believe this is a part of a concerted strategy and I think it's very important for us to draw a strict line a strong line for material consequence". She gave a six-minute floor speech, saying, "This is not about me. This is not about Representative Gosar. This is about what we're willing to accept." The House voted to
censure Gosar, mostly along party lines. The last time the House had censured a lawmaker was in 2010.
January 6 Capitol attack In a nearly 90-minute
Instagram Live video made in February 2021, Ocasio-Cortez said that she had previously experienced
sexual assault, and recounted her experience of fear during the
2021 storming of the United States Capitol, when she was in her office (in the
Cannon House Office Building). She said she had hidden in her office bathroom before being startled by a
Capitol Police officer who entered her office suite and shouted "Where is she?" before ordering her and her staff to evacuate to a different House Office Building. Ocasio-Cortez said the officer did not self-identify, and said she first believed the officer's voice was that of an attacker. She described sheltering in place in Representative
Katie Porter's office and preparing for what she believed would be an assault by rioters on their offices. She said, "I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die." She later said in an interview with Dana Bash that she "didn't think that [she] was just going to be killed." When Bash asked whether she thought she was going to be raped, she answered in the affirmative.
Second Trump administration Ocasio-Cortez gave her first major convention speech in a
primetime slot at the
2024 Democratic National Convention. She expressed support for the
Harris–Walz campaign and heavily criticized
Trump, calling him a
union buster who would "sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends". Ocasio-Cortez addressed the
Gaza war, saying Harris was "working tirelessly" for a ceasefire and hostage deal. The speech was generally well received.
Politico wrote that Ocasio-Cortez was one of the party's "most celebrated stars" and that the establishment acknowledged it. The speech also led to speculation about whether Ocasio-Cortez would run for higher office. When Connolly announced he was leaving his position in May because his cancer was returning, Ocasio-Cortez declined to run again, saying, "It's actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority". In February 2025, "
border czar"
Tom Homan called Ocasio-Cortez "the dumbest congresswoman ever" and accused her of "educat[ing] criminal illegal aliens" after her efforts to teach people their rights, separately suggesting that she could be "in trouble" legally. She responded by saying that "this is why you fight these cowards", arguing her efforts were protected under the
Fourth Amendment. In March, Ocasio-Cortez spoke out against the
federal budget proposal, saying it would empower Trump and
Elon Musk, and asked Democrats to vote against it. When Schumer announced he would vote for the bill to avoid a government shutdown, she called it "a tremendous mistake" and criticized Senate Democrats for allowing it. Several House Democrats, including
Ro Khanna, urged Ocasio-Cortez to primary Schumer in the
2028 New York Senate elections. in Los Angeles, CA Later in March, Ocasio-Cortez joined Sanders on the "
Fighting Oligarchy Tour", giving speeches opposing Trump's policies in multiple cities. She said that
Trump's tariff policy was "disastrous" and
market manipulation, called Trump's immigration crackdown "authoritarian", criticized
activist detentions, drew attention to economic inequality, and called for the "courage to brawl for the working class". Ocasio-Cortez became increasingly viewed as a possible successor to Sanders and a candidate for the
2028 presidential election. In the first quarter of 2025, she raised $9.6 million with an average donation of $21, more than she had ever received. In May, Harris called her someone who was "speaking with moral clarity about this moment", Vice President
JD Vance told Fox News that Ocasio-Cortez running for president was "the stuff of nightmares", and Trump said that she had charisma but questioned her debating skills. In June, she endorsed
Zohran Mamdani in the
New York City Democratic mayoral primary.
Politico called her endorsements "among the most highly sought for liberal Democrats nationwide" and said that her reach had expanded since the last mayoral race.
Other issues speaks about the administration's response to
Hurricane Ida on September 7, 2021. Ocasio-Cortez reacted to the
2021 Texas power crisis by organizing a fundraiser to provide food, water, and shelter to affected Texans. The fundraiser, which began on February 18, raised $2 million in its first day and $5 million by February 21. The money was given to organizations such as the
Houston Food Bank and the
North Texas Food Bank. On April 15, 2021, Ocasio-Cortez and three members of Congress called a press conference to announce a bill that they had introduced to implement
postal banking pilot programs in rural and low-income urban neighborhoods where millions of households cannot access or afford standard
banking services. Ocasio-Cortez described the families she sees in her urban community who need to rely on check-cashing companies that charge exorbitant interest rates due to the absence of mainstream banks. "They'll show up to a check cashing place and imagine cashing your stimulus check...and having 10 to 20% of that check taken away from you." On November 5, 2021, Ocasio-Cortez was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote against the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as it was decoupled from the social safety net provisions in the
Build Back Better Act. In September 2022, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about running for president. She said, "I hold two contradictory things [in mind] at the same time. One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible. But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color. People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can't even tell you if I'm going to be alive in September [of 2022]. And that weighs very heavily on me. And it's not just the right wing.
Misogyny transcends
political ideology: left, right,
center." In May 2023, Ocasio-Cortez was a part of a bipartisan group, including
Matt Gaetz,
Brian Fitzpatrick, and
Raja Krishnamoorthi, that introduced the "Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act". The act bars members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks. In 2025, she was one of the original 16 cosponsors of the Restore Trust in Congress Act (H.R.5106), introduced on September 3 by
Chip Roy. The act, a bipartisan effort to ban members of Congress and their spouses and dependents from owning and trading
stock, had 119 cosponsors as of December 2025. In June 2024, following reports that
Clarence Thomas accepted undisclosed gifts from conservatives, Ocasio-Cortez said the Court was "corrupted by money and
extremism" and undemocratic. She and Representative
Jamie Raskin led a congressional meeting about the Court, and explored options for holding justices accountable. On June 25, they introduced the "High Court Gift Ban Act", which would impose restrictions on the gifts given to justices. In July 2024, Ocasio-Cortez supported and co-led the "DEFIANCE Act", which would allow people to sue creators and distributors of
non-consensual deepfake pornography of themselves, something that had previously been done to her. and
Clarence Thomas in 2024 On July 1, after the
Supreme Court ruled in
Trump v. United States that presidents have
immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions, Ocasio-Cortez announced she would file
articles of impeachment against justices. She said the court was corrupt and that Congress must defend the nation against an "authoritarian capture". On July 10, Ocasio-Cortez officially introduced articles of impeachment against Justices
Clarence Thomas and
Samuel Alito, co-sponsored by seven
House Democrats. The resolution accused the justices of failing to recuse themselves from cases despite personal bias and of not disclosing lavish gifts they received. The resolution cited
Ginni Thomas's involvement in
attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and the presence of "Stop the Steal" symbols on Alito's properties as personal bias. In a statement, she said that corruption in the court had become a
constitutional crisis that threatened democracy. Legal experts said the case would likely fail, but was still important because it drew attention to the justices' conduct. In February 2026, Ocasio-Cortez attended the
62nd Munich Security Conference in
Munich, Germany. She argued that liberal democracies must deliver "material gains for the working class" to resist populist authoritarian movements, which critics at
Jeff Bezos's
Washington Post called "class war" rhetoric. Ocasio-Cortez said that Trump's foreign policy sought to build "an age of authoritarianism" in a retreat from
rules-based order to
spheres of influence, to "carve out a world where Donald Trump can command the western hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox, where Putin can saber-rattle around Europe". She added that, as the
Gaza genocide demonstrated, the so-called "rules-based order" had routinely failed to protect workers or the global poor. While criticizing the Trump administration's
capture of Nicolas Maduro for violating
international law, Ocasio-Cortez incorrectly implied that
Venezuela is "below the equator". When asked about
U.S. military support for Taiwan in the case of Chinese invasion, she stalled for 20 seconds before endorsing
strategic ambiguity, the American status quo.
Donald Trump called the gaffes "career-ending".
Committee assignments •
Committee on Energy and Commerce Past committee assignments •
Committee on Oversight and Accountability'''''' (Vice Ranking Member, 2023–25) (2019–2025) •
Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services •
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs •
Committee on Financial Services (2019–2023) •
Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions (2021–2023) •
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions (2019–2021) •
Committee on Natural Resources (2023–2025) •
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Ranking Member, 2023–25)
Caucus memberships •
Congressional Equality Caucus •
Congressional Progressive Caucus'''''' • House Pro-Choice Caucus •
Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment •
Congressional Hispanic Caucus ==Political positions==