Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Saturday touted "every Democratic presidential candidate" supporting her Green New Deal resolution.
Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, spoke at her inaugural ceremony in the Bronx, where she touted her support from 2020 Democrats in the battle against climate change.
"The Green New Deal that we introduced two weeks ago, which was an amazing step forward, when we first were engineering it before it was introduced they were saying, 'She's divisive. She's too confrontational. No one will sign onto a single piece of legislation that she introduced,'" said Ocasio-Cortez.
"We were able to to introduce a resolution in both chambers co-sponsored by every presidential candidate, every Democratic presidential candidate and 65 House members," Ocasio-Cortez continued.
The Green New Deal resolution, a 14-page economic stimulus plan released last Thursday by Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), has received backlash from conservatives and some moderates. President Donald Trump, who compared it to a "high school term paper that got a low mark" earlier in the week.
According to a FAQ released—and later deleted and retracted—by Ocasio-Cortez's office, the Green New Deal's framework includes replacing or upgrading every building in America with green energy alternatives. They also proposed building "high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary," and providing economic security to people "unwilling to work."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y) on Friday said that she supported "all of the framework"of the Green New Deal during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) also supported the framework and signed on as a co-sponsor. She called the plan "bold" and said, "Bold action takes bold leadership."
Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), who recently announced he's running for president, likened the Democrat's "bold" effort to implement the Green New Deal to fighting Nazis during World War II and landing on the moon in 1969.
"We have to deal with this. Our planet is in peril and we need to be bold. It’s one of the reasons I signed on to the resolution; I co-sponsored the resolution for the Green New Deal," said Booker.
Other possible 2020 contenders that support the Green New Deal include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), along with the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg.