Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pledges to pay staffers a "living wage"

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) announced on Friday via tweet that no member of her staff would make less than $52,000 a year. Salaries will top out at $80,000, significantly lower than the $154,634 median pay for chiefs of staff, according to Roll Call.

Why it matters: "It's likely one of the highest entry-level salaries on the Hill," Cortez said in her tweet. "We pinch pennies elsewhere, but it's worth every dime to pay a living wage." During the transition period after Ocasio-Cortez won her congressional seat in the 2018 midterms, she expressed her concern about being able to afford rent in D.C., where, according to Zillow, the median rent is $2,700 a month.