Congresswoman-elect starting 'Freedom Force' as counterweight to Dems' 'Squad'

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There might be a new squad in town, and this time, it'll be composed of Republicans.

Congresswoman-elect Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., has signalled her interest in forming a "freedom force" to fight socialism.

A Cuban-American, Salazar called out the "socialist nightmare" created by former dictator Fidel Castro.

"I was born in Miami — a community built by survivors my parents fled Castro's socialist nightmare," she tweeted Friday. "[W]e can't just let the socialist left destroy the American Dream for our children! join The Freedom Force & FIGHT BACK today!"

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She linked to an article containing her previous comments on the issue. Salazar told NBC News: “I want to create a force within my freshman class that will have to be reckoned with. A force of reason, a force for freedom, a force for democracy."

The idea of a conservative "squad" seemed like a possibility as New York Republican Nicolle Malliotakis --who defeated Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., this cycle -- expressed interest. Malliotakis' mother also fled Cuba.

“New York City needs a two-party system. We need someone who is going to be a counterbalance to AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.]” Like Malliotakis' and Salazar's families, congresswoman-elect Victoria Spartz also has experience living under socialism.

“I grew up in a socialistic country, the Socialist Republic of Ukraine. I saw what happens when it runs out of money and it is not pretty,” Spartz previously told Fox News. 

Salazar's comments came amid a resurgence in Republican women in Congress and infighting over the direction of the Democratic Party. 

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The moderate vs. progressive divide erupted during a caucus call just days after the election, where Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., urged the party to stay away from ideas typically associated with the left flank of her party. Spanberger was particularly animated and yelled during the call, Fox News confirmed. She told her colleagues: “We lost races we shouldn’t have lost. Defund the police almost cost me my race because of an attack ad. Don’t say socialism ever again. We need to get back to basics.”

Ocasio-Cortez, the perceived leader of the "Squad," has openly backed Democratic socialism -- something Salazer warned would bring misery.

“When I hear this Democratic socialism that is being presented within the Democratic Party, I can only tell you that only brings misery, oppression and exile. And how do I know? Because I have lived it and I have covered it,” she reportedly said.

Members of the old squad have already criticized the would-be alternative among Republicans. “I mean it sounds ridiculous to me. I think they think they’re in high school. We’re in Congress,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reportedly said.

One of the newer members of the Democratic squad, Congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., suggested Republicans misunderstood socialism.

“I believe that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, when they think of socialism, they think of communism and think of the government controlling everything and people being disempowered within democracy, and I think that's an incorrect definition, that's not how I define it," he argued.

But Malliotakis, who floated the name "freedom squad," seemed confident when she told "Fox & Friends" why she thought newly-elected Republicans would be good messengers of the socialism's pitfalls.

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“Not only do we have the most females in history coming to Congress from the Republican side, but we also have a number of minorities, we have immigrants who come from Korea, from Cuba, Ukraine and we also have military veterans as well from the Republican side,” Malliotakis said.

"But I can tell you that this is important because it is the messenger," she added. "You have AOC and the socialist squad, now we have individuals who come from very diverse backgrounds -- many of whom fled communism or socialism themselves or are like me, a daughter of a Cuban refugee -- to be those messengers to say why socialism is bad and to push back and to make sure that we fight to preserve our freedoms and liberties and we reopen our economy, we keep the capitalist system that provides jobs and opportunity." 

Fox News' Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.