A 2018 break in political tradition

Not only does the new class of leaders heading to Washington look different from their predecessors, some are also breaking with tradition when it comes to governing.

Incoming congress members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and others have used social-media fueled activism to pressure Nancy Pelosi on climate change; put a spotlight on Amazon’s move to Queens; and take Harvard to task for lack of policy diversity in its training program for new members of Congress – all in a matter of weeks.

Unwilling to defer to the establishment, Ocasio-Cortez's digital activism has not been warmly greeted by the old guard. One sharp DC observer equates her Twitter fights with old-school politicians to “watching an alligator fight a deer in water.” Love it or hate it, we're witnessing a new form of congressional leadership take hold – activism which moves at the speed of social media.