House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ignited a furor among progressive activists in July when she dismissed objections about a border funding bill from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the three other members of the Squad.

Theyre four people and thats how many votes they got, Pelosi said , explaining why protestations from the progressive group of freshman legislators did not faze her.

Ocasio-Cortez is trying to change that calculation. On Tuesday, she became the first sitting House member to endorse Jessica Cisneros , an immigration attorney challenging Rep. Henry Cuellar, a conservative Texas Democrat, from the left. Shes also endorsed Marie Newman, the progressive challenging conservative Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski in Illinois.

If were not going to pass Medicare for All unless the [House Democratic] caucus changes, then I need to be a part of changing the caucus. Thats just how it is, Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that her ambitious goals for climate action also require a different kind of Democratic Party in Congress. I dont want people to die, and I want to cut our carbon emissions by 50% in 10 years.

If we want to pursue an ambitious agenda that delivers for working-class America, the Democratic Party has to change who they answer to. And they have to answer to working-class people.

Without ever mentioning Pelosi, she added: And its not because of something I said. Its because of something everybody else said: You dont have the votes, people here arent going to support that. Then we have to change the people who are here if we are serious about delivering for working-class people.