Ocasio-Cortez published the picture on Instagram, labeling it "Squad" Pressley published the photo on her Instagram story the same day. During that event a week after Election Day, on November 12, 2018, all four members of the Squad participated in a livestreamed interview with Jodi Jacobson from Rewire.News, organized by VoteRunLead, and took a group picture. Īccording to Pressley, she and Ocasio-Cortez had met before Freshman Orientation Week for the 116th United States Congress. At least three of the squad members provided fund-raising and volunteer assistance during the election campaigns of other members. Omar won the seat previously held by Democrat Keith Ellison, who retired from the House to successfully run for Attorney General of Minnesota, and Tlaib won the seat once held by Dean of the House John Conyers, who resigned in December 2017 after nearly 53 years in Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley defeated Joe Crowley and Mike Capuano, respectively, in primary elections. The average age of the Squad was 38.3 years as of mid-2019, nearly two decades younger than the overall House average age of 57.6 years. Our squad includes any person committed to creating a more equitable and just world." For example, the Justice Democrats tweeted a quote from Pressley saying: "We are more than four people. The moniker has been used pejoratively by some Republicans, but the four original women use the term self-referentially to express solidarity among themselves and with supporters. It notes that the term, with a militaristic connotation, conveys values of self-defense, allegiance, and having "something important to protect". The New York Times considers the Squad to be sui generis, not fitting neatly into the usual types of congressional groups: the gang (a bipartisan group focused on particular legislation) or the caucus (a pressure group based on special interests). Musical acts with "Squad" in their name and lyrics existed from the 1990s to the present. Ocasio-Cortez's home borough of The Bronx was the origin of hip hop. Its use by Ocasio-Cortez signaled familiarity with millennial slang as a playful reference to youth social cliques. The colloquial use of the word "squad" arose from East Coast hip hop culture and describes "a self-chosen group of people that you want to identify with". 2.3 Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better Act.The photo, taken at a VoteRunLead event where the four founding members spoke, subsequently went viral. Ocasio-Cortez coined the "Squad" name in an Instagram post a week after the 2018 election. The Squad has been said to represent the demographic diversity of a younger political generation and the advocacy of progressive policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, which have sometimes clashed with their party's leadership. All represent safe seats with Cook Partisan Voting Index scores of at least D+25. All except Omar and Tlaib were initially elected to Congress after unseating incumbents in primary challenges. The Squad is well known for being among the most progressive and left-wing members of the United States Congress.Īll were elected under the age of 50, have been supported by the Justice Democrats political action committee, and are on the left wing of the Democratic Party. They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections. It was initially composed of four women elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. The Squad is a group of six Democratic members of the U.S.