The group of new members, which includes Maxwell Frost has a text thread in which they discuss everything from news articles and policy ideas to memes and puppies.
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While there’s not a formal process to join the squad, many of the members-elect cited the progressive group as a model for how they hoped to govern. They praised the example set by members like first-term Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who last year slept overnight on the steps of the Capitol to protest the end of an eviction moratorium imposed during the pandemic. Days after she started her protest, the Biden administration announced it would continue the moratorium in most of the U.S.

“I just appreciate her honesty, how authentic she is, but also how intentional she is about how to move the needle, even if it means outside of the legislative process,” said Ramirez, who said her one-on-one with Bush during orientation was one of her “most profound conversations.” The Illinoisian also said she was squad-member Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s (D-Mass.) “biggest fan, and she knows this.”

The incoming liberals know legislation that addresses their goals will be next to impossible with a GOP-controlled House. Instead, they’re ready to whip out a different tool at their disposal: pushing the Biden administration to enact priorities through executive actions, no matter how short-lived they could prove to be.

“We need to push and work with the Biden administration to get as much as we can done,” Casar said, citing stronger overtime rules and labor protections as some of his top priorities. He’s set to wield power as the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ Whip in the upcoming term.

Casar is used to butting heads with the GOP and finding creative workarounds. His stint on the Democratic City Council in Austin, Texas was
marked by statewide
Republicans’ constant efforts to preempt much of their local legislation, such as when the Legislature passed a law that forced local governments to allow law enforcement to ask suspects about their immigration status. Casar said the city found a way to implement the legislation that effectively neutered the GOP-led law.

Additionally, the group is ready to use the time in the minority to shape Democratic priorities, looking to force tough intraparty conversations immediately. Lee, for example, said she wants to address efforts to shun progressive lawmakers through outside spending in elections. She personally faced a deluge of spending from outside entities in her race, including from the pro-Israel group AIPAC, that made her bid for a seat President Joe Biden
won by 20 points
by 20 points surprisingly competitive.

The influx of money, she said, “oftentimes impacts particularly progressives, but [also] Black and Brown folks and women as we are trying to break into a system that is already very hard and difficult for us to get into in the first place. So it stacks disadvantages.”

“We have to prioritize money in politics,” she added. “The progressive wing of the party is absolutely under attack.”