Freshman Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is poised to join the powerful House Financial Services Committee, The Hill reports.
Ocasio-Cortez, a rising star in the Democratic Party who identifies as a democratic socialist, shunned corporate campaign donations during her run for office and has criticized Democrats for supporting deregulation.
"Banks have lobbied big-[money] Democrats to champion deregulation and make it look 'bipartisan,'" she tweeted in June 2017 after the House passed a sweeping set of banking rollbacks aimed at spurring economic growth. "This is corruption. Plain and simple . . . This is why I am running for Congress. Because we cannot stand idly as big banks gut every last protection working families have left."
Progressive advocates have pushed for Democratic leaders to appoint more progressive members to high-profile House committees, per Politico.
"Having members who refuse to take corporate PAC money on a committee that has historically pandered for Wall Street dollars could be a game changer for policy outcomes," Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at Public Citizen, told the news outlet last week. "It could impact how Congress deals with CEO pay structures, systemically risky big banks, corporate crime and more."