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While it will be just over a week before President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office, the political horizon in Washington looks like scorched land. After the horrific act of domestic terrorism at the U.S. Capitol building, GOP leadership warns that the Democrats’ desire to impeach Donald Trump a second time is bad business but AOC isn’t having that.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a guest on ABC’s This Week program just days after the so-called insurrection at the Capitol building on Jan. 6. AOC, as she’s often called in the media, has earned a reputation as a tough-talking congresswoman while staying true to her strong political convictions.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez entered Congress on a mission to turn America into a socialist state. But her career took an unexpected turn. And one top Republican sided with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on this major vote. Congressional leaders spent days behind closed doors drawing up a 2.5 trillion-dollar spending scheme. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell claimed. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 12, 2020. Similarly, Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow “Squad” member, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), recently took aim at former President Barack Obama after he suggested that “snappy” slogans like “defund the police” do not sell to the masses: We lose people in the hands of police. Breaking news about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from The Jerusalem Post. Read the latest updates on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez including articles, videos, opinions and more.

In a letter addressed to President-elect Biden supported by some of the very GOP members who stood in objection to the certification of the Electoral College votes, it was requested that House Democrats and Democrats in the Senate body do not seek the second impeachment of Trump. Rep. Ken Buck, a GOP congressman from Ohio, penned the letter to Biden urging that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi back away from the impeachment vote.

Taking note of Rep. Buck’s ask, AOC was clear that the Democrats were very much pressing ahead on taking up the vote in the Democrat-led House.

“We came close to half of the House nearly dying on Wednesday, and if another head of state came in and ordered an attack on the United States Congress, would we say that that should not be prosecuted?” Ocasio-Cortez stated. “It is an act of insurrection, it’s an act of hostility, and we must have accountability because, without it, it will happen again.”

Watch the entire This Week segment below.

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Photo: Getty

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday doubled down on her call for another wave of $1,200 direct payments to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
• 'If people don't get UI assistance, and if they don't get a stimulus check, then relief isn't going to be felt in their lives, not in a substantive way,' Ocasio-Cortez told NBC News.
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib and GOP Sen. Josh Hawley have also urged lawmakers to approve a second round of stimulus checks.
• Stimulus checks like the ones distributed to millions of American taxpayers as part of the CARES Act this spring are missing from the $908 billion coronavirus relief package that's gaining traction in Congress.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont echoed his colleagues' demand by announcing that he wouldn't vote for the latest relief bill without 'significant' changes, including the addition of $1,200 checks.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers are calling for another wave of $1,200 direct payments to be included in the $908 billion coronavirus stimulus package that's gathering steam in Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have signaled a willingness to move forward with the relief legislation despite their calls for a federal assistance package of at least $2.2 trillion.

Ocasio-Cortez told NBC News' Garrett Haake on Friday that while the framework of the new relief bill included positive measures, she was concerned that without unemployment insurance and direct payments, needy Americans wouldn't receive direct relief.

'If people don't get UI assistance, and if they don't get a stimulus check, then relief isn't going to be felt in their lives, not in a substantive way,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'And so will I support resources to hospitals and schools and firefighters? Absolutely. But I am extremely concerned that it's not going to solve the immediate problems that people have.'

She added that 'if you're on the brink of an eviction or if you're behind on six months of bills, you need that check, you need the check, and state and local funding isn't going to help you.'

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont followed up Ocasio-Cortez's demand with an announcement that he wouldn't vote for the latest relief bill unless 'significant' changes were made, including the addition of $1,200 checks.

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Read more: The $908 billion coronavirus stimulus deal could be the next one Congress passes: Here's what's in the relief package and what you could get

—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 4, 2020

—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 4, 2020

Other progressives, such as Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, have also advocated the inclusion of direct payments. Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted on Friday that it would be 'immoral' to pass another relief bill without stimulus checks. And there is some GOP support for direct payments - Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley signaled that he wouldn't vote for a relief package without stimulus checks and tweeted on Friday that he would 'gladly work' with Ocasio-Cortez on this effort.

The latest government rescue package was introduced on Tuesday by a bipartisan group of 16 senators. Congressional Democrats embraced the framework a day later, saying it should be the starting point in negotiations with Republicans after months of gridlock.

Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell favors a slimmer rescue plan, some GOP senators are lining up behind the compromise proposal. It still lacks legislative text, which is expected early next week.

Ocasio-Cortez has been outspoken in supporting a new round of stimulus checks, but she has said that checks alone, without funding for state and local governments, would amount to a 'sugar high.'

She's also been sharply critical of the GOP's push to shield businesses and schools from legal liability if their employees are infected with COVID-19 on the job. Republicans have insisted on including a so-called liability shield in any relief bill, but many Democrats view the measure as a poison pill.

If Congress fails to pass a new relief bill, nearly 12 million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas when their pandemic-related assistance expires. Millions of Americans could be evicted from their homes when a national moratorium on evictions expires at the end of December, along with student-loan forbearance.

Pressure is mounting on Congress as COVID-19 cases spike across the country. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the pace of hiring had decreased for the fifth consecutive month in November as 10 million Americans remained unemployed.

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President-elect Joe Biden has insisted that any stimulus passed before his inauguration in late January would be a 'down payment' on a more comprehensive relief package he'd seek to pass early in his presidency.

'Any package passed in the lame-duck session is not enough,' Biden said on Friday. 'It's just the start. Congress will need to act again in January.'

As part of the CARES Act in March, Congress and President Donald Trump authorized $1,200 direct payments for millions of American taxpayers earning up to $75,000 annually, plus an extra $500 per child under 17. The cash amount diminished until being phased out for those making above $99,000. Married couples earning up to $150,000 a year also qualified for the full payment.

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The Treasury Department and the IRS distributed nearly 153 million stimulus payments this year, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The program cost $292 billion.