Ocasio-Cortez Likely to Gain Seat on Financial Services Committee

High-profile freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is likely to gain a seat on the House Financial Services Committee in the coming weeks.

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, has called for allowing postal banking and for Congress to enact an updated Glass-Steagall Act.

Ocasio-Cortez, who has identified herself as a democratic-socialist, has emerged as perhaps the highest profile Democratic freshman. She has more than two million followers on Twitter and has become the target of both Republicans and conservative Democrats.

House Democrats are still going through their formal process to appoint committee members. The Democratic House Steering and Policy Committee, which recommends committee appointments to the Democratic caucus, has not completed its work yet.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) serves as his state’s representative on the steering committee. A Meeks aide said that Ocasio-Cortez has expressed interest in serving on the Financial Services Committee, adding that the congressman will recommend her appointment next week.

Ocasio-Cortez achieved a huge upset victory in the 2018 Democratic primary for the House, when she upset then-Rep. Joe Crowley, chairman of the House Democratic caucus.

Her name has been linked to efforts by progressive Democrats who might challenge more conservative House Democrats in primaries in 2020, leading to reports that some Democrats are attempting to rein her in.

During her campaign, Ocasio-Cortez called for Congress to restore Glass-Steagall to ensure that bankers cannot gamble with customers’ money. She also called for oversized banks to be broken up to reduce the chance of a financial crash.

And she called for allowing the Postal Service to go into the banking business to provide services to the underserved and to increase competition.

Credit union trade groups have opposed postal banking, contending that credit unions are well-positioned to provide such services if their Fields of Membership are expanded.