Yeah, so I mean, there's multiple dimensions here. There's the policy, there's the politics, and there's also the process.

That's representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the leading voice of the Progressive Movement.

A lot has changed in Washington for progressives like Ocasio-Cortez.

In 2021 and 2022, with Democrats controlling the House,

she and her allies could block any piece of legislation if they held together.

Their big fights were with moderate Democrats over how many trillions of dollars to spend on President Joe Biden's agenda.

And they had easy access to the White House with Ron Claim as Biden's chief of staff.

Now, they're in the minority and far from the negotiating room where Joe Biden is trying to make a budget deal with Kevin McCarthy to get him to raise the debt ceiling.

Their big fight is trying to stop the President from caving to McCarthy on what they view as draconian budget cuts and policies that would weaken the social safety net.

And over at the White House, it's not really clear who they should call anymore.

AOC is keenly aware of these changed circumstances.

She's been carefully watching the debt limit debate play out and she has a clear view of what it's all about.

This is really about the President and who is around him and how we are choosing to navigate this intersection of power.

This moment is about power.

People may not like that.

People may not want this situation to be about that, but that is fundamentally what this is about.

I'm Ryan Liza and this is Playbook Deep Dive.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been in Congress since 2018.

That's long enough to have learned how to use her unique influence to affect legislation, even when she's not at the table.

So as you'll hear, she has a few ideas about how House progressives can flex their muscles right now.

And she has some advice for Joe Biden as we approach the end game of the debt limit, which she also has a warning for the President.

We caught up with Ocasio-Cortez in her periwinkle walled office on the hill as she was preparing to drive home to New York City for the weekend.

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