Boston, MA – October 16: Representative Ayanna Pressley speaks during the grand opening of Northeastern University’s EXP Complex. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
A powerful pro-Israel lobbying group is reportedly spending $100 million to remove the “Squad,” the super liberal cohort that includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts’ Ayanna Pressley, from Congress next year.
The bid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), reported first by Slate, is the most audacious move yet to target elected officials who strongly oppose Israel’s war against Hamas in response to the terror group’s surprise attack on the country last month.
Pressley and the seven-member Squad are firmly ensconced in liberal Democratic territory and getting them knocked out won’t be easy.
Several members of the Squad, including Reps. Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Summer Lee and Ilhan Omar, already face Democratic opposition in next fall’s primary.
But there has been no reported interest in another Democrat challenging Pressley, the Boston congresswoman who herself ousted longtime Democratic incumbent Michael Capuano to win her seat.
Pressley’s 7th District includes three-fourths of the city of Boston and stretches from Somerville and Revere in the north to Randolph in the south.
If another Democrat takes her on, he or she will have to appeal to liberals and moderates and argue that Pressley, a former Boston city councilor, is so extremist she’s out of touch with her constituents. Her far-left views and support of Palestinians may have alienated her from some voters.
Pressley has called for a cease-fire in Gaza and has strongly denounced Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas terrorists.
AIPAC is one of if not the most powerful political interest group in the country and the organization’s effort to defeat the Squad should not be taken lightly — even by Pressley.
Several super PACs have already surfaced to pour money into the campaigns of the Squad’s challengers.
Slate called AIPAC’s $100 million offensive to defeat the Squad as potentially the “biggest, bitterest and most expensive” political fights of 2024.
Ocasio-Cortez wasted no time in coming out to denounce AIPAC’s move.
“Criticism of the Israeli gov is virtually nonexistent in US politics, but apparently that’s not enough,” she said on X, formerly Twitter. “Gotta spend $100 million to unseat the few who believe in Palestinian human rights & a ceasefire that most Americans already support. The acceptable level of dissent is 0.”
It’s unclear if AIPAC is trying to recruit someone to take on Pressley. She faced a Democratic candidate, Donnie Palmer, in 2022 but won with a whopping 85% of the vote.
“We are reviewing a number of races involving detractors of Israel, but we have made no decisions at this time,” an AIPAC spokesperson told Newsweek.
