'Squad' member Ayanna Pressley worries Democrats will swing to the center after election defeat

Progressive "Squad" member Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., worried that the Democratic Party would abandon its far-left policy goals in response to its defeat in the 2024 election.

In comments to the Boston Globe, Pressley suggested that this would be the wrong approach to winning back voters' confidence.

"I am concerned that we will reflexively, in this moment, moderate our policy aspirations," she said. "If we are to say, ‘Come on home and let’s do the work of getting the gavel back and being in power, getting the House, getting the Senate, getting the White House,’ the real question is, Democrats, you want the power, but to do what? And this has been an issue that we have struggled to overcome."

In the aftermath of the election, moderate members of the Democratic Party have suggested that the party's focus on identity politics had contributed to the exodus of blue-collar and minority voters from the party over the past few years.

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Fellow Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton drew backlash after telling the New York Times earlier this month that the Democratic Party's stance on the transgender athlete issue was out-of-touch with most Americans.

"Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face," Moulton said to the Times. "I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that." 

In the Times report, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y. also said his party needed to stop "pandering to the far left" on the transgender issue.

Pressley, however, argued that voters largely supported progressive policies this election, citing support for abortion rights and paid leave expansion at the ballot box.

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In the 2024 election, seven states voted to amend restrictions on abortion rights, while three states defeated similar measures, leaving in place existing restrictions. 

Expansions to paid leave also passed in Missouri, Alaska and Nebraska, according to the 19th News.

Pressley also said Republicans were the party fixated on identity politics, when asked about the fight on Capitol Hill over whether openly transgender Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride should be allowed to use women's restrooms.

"They are the ones obsessed with identity, and they show that every day," Pressley said of Republicans."Sarah McBride was elected by Delawareans because she was an effective legislator in Delaware who did extraordinary work on issues like paid leave legislatively, who is here on the strength of her ideas, not her identity."

Pressley's comments come after she torched her Republican colleagues for proposing legislation that would weaken diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the government.

During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Pressley called the Dismantle DEI Act an "utter disgrace" and accused the GOP of not understanding America's history of racism and discrimination.

The legislation was approved by the House Oversight Committee on a party-line vote, 23-17.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

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