Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) after a lapse in membership, according to reporting cited in the source text. The Manhattan Institute “reported that Ocasio-Cortez rejoined the Democratic Socialists after having not renewed her membership since 2019.” City & State New York reported that the organization allegedly did not know she was not an active member during those years and believed she was.
DSA cites 2028 discussions in unusual disclosure
The source text includes a DSA statement explaining why the group addressed an individual’s membership status: “While it is atypical for DSA to address the membership status of individuals, ongoing discussions about the 2028 presidential campaign have prompted this release. … With chapters and members campaigning to draft Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential Presidential Primary candidate, we believe that the status of her membership is essential information for members to have in their deliberations and discussions.”
City & State New York also reported that DSA looked into Ocasio-Cortez’s status after she said in an ABC interview that she was a member of the New York City chapter, but not the national group—creating confusion because local membership requires national membership, the outlet reported.
What was previously believed
According to City & State New York, DSA believed Ocasio-Cortez was an active member during the lapse period and in 2020 publicly congratulated “DSA member @AOC” on her re-election.
Republican critics respond to socialism
Amid the reporting on Ocasio-Cortez’s membership, Sen. Rand Paul posted on X: “There’s nothing ‘healthy’ about the Democratic Party flirting with socialism. Experiments have subjects, and in this one it’s the American people. Socialism has been tried on every continent, and it produced shortages, censorship, and people risking their lives to leave. Young Americans deserve solutions, not a test run of failed policies the world already rejected.”
Rep. Glenn Grothman said on “Washington Watch”: “We’ve got to do a better job of educating people with [what] socialism is. … Socialism really is the end of freedom.” He added: “You’re giving up freedom whenever you allow government to grow. And the socialists, of course, they want it to grow to cover 100% of all we have. It’ll be incremental and over time.”
