After a series of electoral wins for far-left candidates Tuesday night, a "Squad 2.0" prepares to join Congress.
"Squad 2.0 let's go," tweeted incoming congresswoman Cori Bush (D., Mo.) to congratulate fellow representatives-elect Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) and Mondaire Jones (D., N.Y.) on their victories.
Justice Democrats, a PAC that backs far-left Democratic candidates, endorsed both Bush and Bowman during their congressional bids. The group also endorsed the entire incumbent "squad," which includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.).
The views of the self-identified "Squad 2.0" largely align with those of the current squad. A former Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) campaign aide, Bush defeated a 10-term incumbent Democratic congressman in her primary race on a platform that supported the Green New Deal, universal basic income, and abolishing ICE. In recent weeks, Bush also championed the idea of defunding the Pentagon.
Bowman, a longtime schoolteacher, has explicitly supported defunding the police, and although he claims to denounce the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, Bowman has embraced the support of anti-Israel activists.
Bowman bested Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), a staunch Israel ally, in the Democratic primary. Current squad members such as Tlaib, Omar, and Ocasio-Cortez have touted support from anti-Semitic causes and organizations that have called for the destruction of Israel.
A former Justice Department official during the Obama administration, Jones also supports "defunding police and reinvesting this money in health, education, and alternatives to incarceration." The incoming congressman also supports the Green New Deal, codifying Roe v. Wade, and cutting the defense budget.
Among the many areas where far-left Democrats may break with a potential Biden administration and Democratic House leadership is defense spending. Rep. Adam Smith (D., Wash.), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee—the lead committee in developing the budget for the Department of Defense—anticipates a "big fight coming" over defense funding, which far-left lawmakers hope to slash by as much as 20 percent.