Ocasio-Cortez addressed Yoho of Florida after The Hill's Mike Lillis reported that he called her "disgusting" and a "f---ing b----" on the steps of the Capitol.
"My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter," she said in her speech. "My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this house towards me on television, and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men."
She later told Vanity Fair that she "had a little war paint on that day."
Kate Haulman, an associate professor at American University who teaches early North American and US history as well as women's and gender history, previously told Insider that she thought Ocasio-Cortez seemed to reclaim the color red.
"Red becomes so associated with the Republican party, and also because of the 'MAGA' hats," Haulman said. "I thought it was her way of saying, 'I'm reclaiming this color.' It was such a vibrant shade, too. I thought it was a real statement."