Washington DC - New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) after having not renewed her membership for several years.
In a statement shared by The Guardian on Thursday, the DSA confirmed that AOC "is a member in good standing of our organization" after rejoining at an undisclosed date earlier this month.
"Previously, the representative joined DSA in 2018 with a one-year membership, which DSA's national leadership recently noticed had lapsed, in 2019. She has since renewed her membership as of this month," the group added.
DSA claimed the decision to share the news came amid speculation that AOC – one of the most popular Democratic Socialists in the country – may run for president in 2028.
The announcement came after the Manhattan Institute first called out AOC's lapsed membership in an X post on Monday.
In an interview earlier this month, AOC stirred confusion when asked about her standings with DSA. She responded by explaining that she was a member of her local New York chapter, but not the national one.
Critics quickly pointed out that's not possible, as local members are automatically members of the national group.
DSA has recently gained a lot of attention as multiple members have won Democratic primary races across the country. City and State reports that members of NYC-DSA have been encouraging AOC to run.
On Wednesday, the group shared a photo on X of the chairs of the group with the congresswoman, along with the caption, "Democratic socialism is the future."