Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) knows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) had to fight to get to where she is today.
“Her commitment to putting power in the hands of the people is forged in fire,” the presidential hopeful wrote of Ocasio-Cortez for Time magazine’s issue honoring the 100 most influential people of 2019.
“Coming from a family in crisis and graduating from school with a mountain of debt, she fought back against a rigged system and emerged as a fearless leader in a movement committed to demonstrating what an economy, a planet and a government that works for everyone should look like,” Warren added in the profile published Wednesday.
Ocasio-Cortez graduated college in 2008, the year the stock market crashed and left many in financial ruin. Her family “fell off a financial cliff,” Warren wrote. Ocasio-Cortez’s father died of lung cancer that same year.
“She watched as our government bailed out Wall Street while it ignored families like hers,” Warren wrote. “She learned the hard way that in America today, Washington protects the powerful while leaving hardworking people behind.”
Ocasio-Cortez became the golden girl of the Democratic Party after unexpectedly defeating 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley of New York in the Democratic primary. Ocasio-Cortez, who was born to a Puerto Rican mother and Bronxite father, worked as a bartender just months before winning her primary and had not previously worked in politics. In November, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Warren concluded her profile of Ocasio-Cortez by applauding the 29-year-old politician’s drive.
“She reminds all of us that even while greed and corruption slow our progress, even while armies of lobbyists swarm Washington, in our democracy, true power still rests with the people,” Warren wrote. “And she’s just getting started.”
Head over to Time to read more profiles from the magazine’s list.