Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Tuesday that she got a spot on the powerful House Financial Services Committee.



The committee has broad authority to oversee big banks and financial services in the US and to debate new regulations.

It is rare for freshman members of Congress like Ocasio-Cortez to get seats on high-ranking committees.

In the past, Ocasio-Cortez has called for big banks to be broken up.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has secured a spot on the House Financial Services Committee, the powerful House group that oversees Wall Street.

Ocasio-Cortez confirmed the appointment on Tuesday night on Twitter, saying: "Financial Services is one of just four exclusive committees in the House. It oversees big banks, lending, & the financial sector."

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to sit on this committee as a freshman, and look forward to working under the leadership of @RepMaxineWaters!" she added.

Rep. Maxine Waters, who leads the House Financial Services Committee. Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch /IPX/AP

First-year members of Congress are rarely given places on high-ranking committees like this one.

The Financial Services Committee has formal responsibility to oversee the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has regular opportunities to interrogate top US financial officials.

It is where the biggest overhaul of US finance in over a century was put together, and it is virtually impossible to pass new bills about Wall Street without its members' input.

It is one of the key committees that gives banks their freedom, or reins them in.

The committee was crucial in the formation of the Dodd-Frank package of laws meant to secure the US financial sector in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. One of Dodd-Frank's cosponsors, Barney Frank, was serving as chairman of the committee at the time.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifying to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, DC, in July. The committee is one of the key committees that gives big banks their freedom or reins them in. Mary F. Calvert/Reuters

With Ocasio-Cortez on the committee, it is plausible that in the near future the US public could see a democratic socialist publicly grill, for instance, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

"Personally, I'm looking forward to digging into the student loan crisis, examining for-profit prisons/ICE detention, and exploring the development of public & postal banking," Ocasio-Cortez said on Tuesday night. "To start."

She is also expected to advocate higher scrutiny of financial firms, Bloomberg reported. She has rejected corporate campaign donations and previously called for big banks to be broken up.

Read more: Wall Street should love the economic theory Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backs — and that should worry the rest of us

Ocasio-Cortez in a recent photo shoot for INSIDER. Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Ocasio-Cortez's appointment comes after she was left off the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees many parts of US economy policy including spending, taxes, and revenue.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Steering and Policy Committee instead offered the spot on the committee to Rep. Tom Suozzi, a 56-year-old, more fiscally conservative Democrat.

Two key parts of Ocasio-Cortez's platform, Medicare for All and the "Green New Deal," would need the Ways and Means committee's approval to become law.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who is running for president in 2020, is also expected to be given a place on the Financial Services Committee, Bloomberg reported.

Read more: THE TRUTH ABOUT ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: The inside story of how, in just one year, Sandy the bartender became a lawmaker who triggers both parties