Carlos Gimenez, the former Miami-Dade County mayor, and Maria Elvira Salazar, an ex-TV journalist, who both got their House races earlier this month, said that they want to start a "Freedom Squad" to uphold the far-left wing of the Democratic Party.
"I’m not here to battle every Democrat. I am here to battle [the Squad]. I will do that with my last breath," Gimenez said, citing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as one of his motives to first run for office. Rounding out the initial squad are Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
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The Freedom Squad will be assembled of Republicans who succeeded to flip seats held by Democratic incumbents or held on to their own competitive seats in the general election.
Joining Gimenez and Salazar, who both have Cuban roots, the group has drawn the attention of congresswoman-elect Nicole Malliotakis, whose mother was born in Cuba, and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who lived her childhood in the Soviet Union before Ukraine grew an independent nation.
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Malliotakis, who will be New York City's single GOP lawmaker in the House next session, stated there is a stark contrast between her
"She obviously is pushing a socialist agenda. I’m someone who takes that very seriously ... There’s certainly a stark contrast," Malliotakis explained. "And the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn, I believe, voted for me in part because they did want someone who was going to push back on the far-left agenda taking over New York City."
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Spartz gave comparable reasons for her congressional run, citing her time in living in the then-Soviet Republic of Ukraine.
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"I grew up in a socialistic country. It actually was the [Soviet] Republic of Ukraine," Spartz said. “In my 42 years, I grew up in socialism. I saw what happens when it runs out of money, and it’s not pretty."
Separate from the liberal Squad or the right-wing Freedom Caucus, the Freedom Squad doesn't want to alter the Republican Party fundamentally but tries to align itself with party leadership. The idea received the praise of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
The Republican former Ambassador to the UN. took to Twitter expressing her thoughts:” Move over AOC, meet @NMalliotakis, a descendent of Cuban immigrants who experienced the dangers of communism and socialism up-close, who has started the Freedom Squad. Joining her are @CarlosGimenezFL , @MaElviraSalazar, & @Victoria_Spartz. We welcome the Freedom Squad to DC!” Haley wrote.
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