Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has maintained the same amount of federal student loan debt since her election to Congress in 2018 while earning an annual salary of $174,000, even as she recently announced she is undergoing a costly egg-freezing procedure that she says she has been saving for over several years.
The progressive lawmaker’s latest House financial disclosure, filed in August, shows she continues to owe between $15,001 and $50,000 in student loan debt—the identical amount she reported when she first took office eight years ago. The disclosures list finances in ranges rather than exact figures. Her assets, meanwhile, total less than $81,000 across multiple accounts.
Ocasio-Cortez accumulated the loans while attending Boston University between August 2007 and May 2011, studying international relations and economics. She worked as a bartender in Manhattan after graduating before successfully running for Congress at age 29.
The debt situation has drawn attention partly because of the timing: the congresswoman recently revealed on Instagram that she is freezing her eggs, a procedure that can cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per cycle, with additional storage fees. She has stated that she spent years saving to afford the procedure and that her insurance does not cover the cost.
“I got sworn into the House of Representatives when I was 29 years old,” she said in an Instagram video, explaining her reasoning. “There’s this flip side where you have to then grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately.”
In the videos, she added: “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life. And if people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions. I feel empowered to make this choice.”
The contrast between her unpaid student debt and the new fertility procedure has highlighted questions about debt management among “Squad” members, a group of progressive House Democrats. Ocasio-Cortez has long championed aggressive student debt cancellation, advocating during former President Joe Biden’s term for canceling as much as $50,000 in debt per borrower.
“Entire generations of working class kids were encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism. This is wrong,” she posted in February 2021. “We can have both” education initiatives and loan forgiveness, she argued, rejecting the idea that these priorities must be traded off against each other. Later that year, she stated that the Senate Majority Leader supported the $50,000 cancellation figure but that “Biden’s holding back.”
Other members of her class face similar circumstances. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota continues to carry between $15,001 and $50,000 in outstanding student debt, despite her net worth having reached as much as $30 million in previous years due to her husband’s business ventures in the wine and venture capital industries. Omar has been among the most vocal advocates for broad student debt cancellation, serving as a key figure in pushing Biden’s cancellation efforts.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has reduced her law school debt, which once topped $100,000, but still carries as much as $50,000 in outstanding loans. Tlaib has highlighted her personal struggle with student debt on the House floor, detailing how she worked full-time and took weekend classes while accumulating nearly $200,000 in debt.
In contrast, moderate Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, also elected in 2018, has paid off at least half of his original $100,000 in student debt.
The Supreme Court blocked Biden’s broader debt cancellation plan in June 2023, rejecting a program that could have cost taxpayers between $430 billion and $475 billion over a decade. Following that decision, Ocasio-Cortez urged the administration to pursue alternative pathways under the Higher Education Act.
“It is very important to note this SCOTUS ruling does NOT remove Biden’s ability to pursue student loan forgiveness,” she posted after the Supreme Court ruling. “The Biden Admin can use the HEA to continue loan forgiveness before payments resume. They should do so ASAP.”
While Ocasio-Cortez has acknowledged that the government will not subsidize her egg-freezing decision, neither she nor other House Democrats have filed legislation seeking taxpayer funding for the fertility procedure, despite their advocacy for public coverage of other healthcare services.
The congresswoman has rejected suggestions that her own political ambitions influenced her decision to freeze her eggs at age 36, though some outlets have speculated about a potential 2028 presidential run. She has also declined to answer questions about whether she remains engaged to longtime partner Riley Roberts.