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The Remaking of A.O.C.

Five years into her legislative career, a more subdued and party-line-toeing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is inciting all kinds of curiosity. She’s either playing three dimensional chess en route to the Senate and beyond, or she’s diligently earning her stripes on the Hill. Which is it?

On the Hill, which is filled with gossips and more gossips, observers are trying to decipher A.O.C.’s strategy.
On the Hill, which is filled with gossips and more gossips, observers are trying to decipher A.O.C.’s strategy. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
March 13, 2023

At this point, the legend of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is part of the political-pop culture fabric of our times—she was the bartending, student-loan obligated underdog who shocked Joe Crowley and the Democratic establishment, stared down the D.C.C.C., led the next-gen ambitions of The Squad, flexed her juice to Nancy Pelosi, and became a Met Gala sensation, cover star, and arguably one of the most recognizable people in the country, mostly before her 30th birthday.