Ayanna Pressley breaks with "Squad" to endorse Elizabeth Warren
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley endorsed fellow Massachusetts lawmaker Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic presidential primary Wednesday. Pressley's endorsement came after the rest of a grouping of progressive congresswomen colloquially known as "the Squad" announced they were supporting Senator Bernie Sanders' bid for the presidency.
In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Pressley said she was supporting Warren because the senator is a "consistent" advocate for progressive change who "never loses sight of the people."
"You've all heard about the senator's plans, but here's the thing — the plans are about power. Who has it, who refuses to let it go, and who deserves more of it," Pressley said, referring to Warren's various policy proposals, which have become a central plank of her campaign. "For Elizabeth and for me, power belongs in the hands of the people. That's why she's fighting for fundamental change that restores power to those who've been left behind and centers those who've never had access to it in the first place."
"I'm proud to call her my senator, and I can't wait to call her our president," Pressley said.
The rest of the Squad — which is made up of Pressley and congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib — have endorsed Sanders. Although Pressley has consistently supported left-wing policies like Medicare for All, she has at times broken with other Squad members, such as when she voted for a resolution condemning the anti-Israel "Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" (BDS) movement.
Ocasio-Cortez joined Sanders for a rally in Queens, New York, last month that drew 25,000 attendees — the largest crowd of the Democratic primary campaign so far. Omar and Tlaib have also appeared at Sanders' campaign events. Pressley will appear with Warren at a campaign event at North Carolina State University on Thursday.
In a July interview with "CBS This Morning," Pressley said the Squad did not represent a new progressive insurgency overtaking Congress, and noted that she and her colleagues hailed from "very different districts."
"Each of us bring our unique and our authentic voice to this body. We govern in our own way. What we are, are four women who have an alignment of values, shared policy priorities, who have repeatedly happen to land in the same place on the issue of immigration. That is it," Pressley said.
