The Squad (United States Congress)
Group of progressive U.S. representatives / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Squad is an informal left-wing group of nine Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives.[1] It had nine members at its high point. The Squad is known for being among the most progressive and left-wing members of the United States Congress.
Founding members
Subsequent additions
The squad was initially composed of four women under the age of 50,[2] elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections:
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
- Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
- Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
- Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
They have since been joined by Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois following the 2022 elections. Two previous members, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, joined following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, but will lose their seats after the 2024 election cycle, as they failed to win in their primaries.[1]
Members have been supported by the Justice Democrats political action committee, and are on the left wing of the Democratic Party.[3][4] Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Bush and Bowman were initially elected to Congress after unseating incumbents in primary challenges. All but Lee represent safe seats with Cook Partisan Voting Index scores of at least D+20. All but Omar, Pressley, and Ramirez are currently or formerly affiliated with Democratic Socialists of America, with Ocasio-Cortez, Bowman, Tlaib, and Bush being currently endorsed.[when?]
The Squad has been said to represent the advocacy of progressive policies supported by some in the younger political generation, such as Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and tuition-free college, which have sometimes clashed with their party's leadership.[5][6][7][8] Ocasio-Cortez coined the "Squad" name in an Instagram post a week after the 2018 election. The photo, taken at a VoteRunLead event where the four founding members spoke, subsequently went viral.[9]