Reps. Maxwell Frost and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Rep.Maxwell Frosthas found plenty in common with Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezduring his short time on Capitol Hill. The Latino progressives were both historically young when they were elected to the House of Representatives, fresh on the heels of working service jobs. Now 26 and 33, they are the youngest two lawmakers in Congress.
“There is a solidarity just being young people in Congress,” Frost explains of his relationship to Ocasio-Cortez. “So, she gives me a lot of advice — not even political, but practical advice, just coming here as a working-class person.”
When Frost, the nation’sfirst Gen Z congressman, revealed in December that he had beendenied an apartmentin Washington because of his low credit score, Ocasio-Cortezreplied to his Twitter postswith an offer to help him navigate his debt and job-related expenses.
Ocasio-Cortez faced a similar challenge after she won her first election in 2018,going viral at the timefor speaking up about her difficulty paying for a D.C. apartment before her congressional salary kicked in. That signature vulnerability — coupled with her historic achievement as theyoungest woman ever elected to Congress— is what helped make “AOC” a household name almost overnight.
“Her running gave a lot of young people permission to run for office,” Frost says of Ocasio-Cortez. “If she didn’t do what she did, I probably wouldn’t have run.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrates her upset victory over Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in her district’s 2018 primary election.Scott Heins/Getty Images
Since Frost’s successful campaign, in which he also had to go through congressional veteransto secure the Democratic nomination, Americans have wasted no time equating his unlikely journey with AOC’s.
But while their similarities are undeniable — as of Thursday they’re even more closely linked, having both beenappointed to the investigative House Oversight Committee— Frost hopes people will stop trying to lump lawmakers together and instead give everyone a chance to shine in their own unique ways.
“People in general, they like to group others,” Frost adds. Case in point, he says, is “The Squad,” which began as a group of four progressive women of color — Reps. Ocasio-Cortez,Rashida Tlaib,Ilhan OmarandAyanna Pressley— who each entered Congress the same year. First united as targets of then-PresidentDonald Trump, they soon becamethe most recognizable friendson Capitol Hill.
‘The Squad’: Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.J Scott Applewhite/AP/Shutterstock
Since 2018, though, the Squad have been subject to much speculation and criticism that overshadows their accomplishments.Why isn’t AOC standing with Rep. Omar at this event, is she outgrowing the Squad?Why did they invite this new progressive lawmaker to join their crew, but not that one? Will the Squad members crumble if one of them gets voted out of Congress?
Frost says that, while it’s true people make friends and allies in Congress, the public takes those groupings a bit too literally and develops a distorted view of how government works. “It’s like everyone’s in a box, you know what I mean?” he asks. “I don’t think that’s helpful, because everyone operates in such a different way.”
Looking around the House floor on any given day, he says, “it’s not justthe progressivesandthe moderates, orthe Black peopleandthe Hispanics. Everyone’s talking with each other.” Frost wants the public to see that side of government — the open and collaborative side — where everyone is seeking input from everyone.
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source: people.com
