Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. had previously made her thoughts on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden clear –– she said she wanted nothing to do with the establishment candidate.
But ever since her preferred candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. dropped from the primaries, Ocasio-Cortez has done a pragmatic turn.
According to sources, she will join Biden’s campaign on his climate change task force.
She seen as a key conduit between far-left voters who supported Sanders and backers of the more centrist Biden.
The move came as the Biden camp announced the creation of numerous committees ahead of November 2020.
Each committee has eight members and will be focused on health care, immigration, education, criminal justice reform, climate change, and the economy, which has taken a sharp downturn amid shutdowns to slow the spread of the Wuhan virus pandemic.
Biden and Sanders differed throughout the primary on a number of issues, particularly whether a government-run system should replace private health insurance.
But recently, the former vice president has taken steps to embrace some policies favored by the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party, aware that he will need those far-left voters to turn out for him against President Donald Trump. That includes embracing proposals backed by the socialist Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. to expand health coverage eligibility through Medicare, cancel trillions in student loan debt for Americans, and overhaul the nation’s system for individuals to declare bankruptcy.
Sanders, a senator from Vermont, endorsed Biden within a week of leaving the race in April — unlike in 2016, when he waited until just before the party’s convention to formally back Hillary Clinton.
He originally urged supporters to keep voting for him in upcoming primaries delayed by the coronavirus outbreak so that he would be able to influence the policy platform unveiled during the Democratic National Convention — an event already delayed until August because of the pandemic.
But Sanders and Biden later announced they’d be forming joint committees on key issues, potentially helping Biden win over the far-left who viewed him as too moderate. The groups will meet ahead of the Democratic convention and prepare recommendations for its platform committee as well as Biden.
Ocasio-Cortez will be co-chairwoman of the climate change committee along with former Secretary of State John Kerry, who was a visible Biden surrogate
Also in the name of Democratic unity, some of Sanders’ top former campaign advisers have already formed a separate, outside political group to promote Biden and liberal ideals.
“The Democratic Party must think big, act boldly, and fight to change the direction of this country,” Sanders said. “I commend Joe Biden for working together with my campaign to assemble a group of leading thinkers and activists who can and will unify our party in a transformational and progressive direction.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article