No one can claim that progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Tea Party stalwart Sen. Ted Cruz are ideological allies. But apparently some issues are still capable of bridging the ever-widening partisan divide. In a rare showing of bipartisanship, Ocasio-Cortez and Cruz hatched a plot on Twitter Thursday to take on the popular trend of lawmakers becoming lobbyists. With a single digital exchange, the unlikely duo agreed to get legislation going that would ban the legislator-turned-lobbyist progression—and quickly got some of their other colleagues on board in the process.

The improbable partnership got started after Ocasio-Cortez shared a Public Citizen article on Twitter discussing the large percentage of former members of Congress who had already turned to lobbying. “If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress.” Cruz chimed in, saying, “Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC.” “Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists,” the Texas senator continued. “The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation?”

That got the ball rolling, as Ocasio-Cortez said she would co-lead a bill with Cruz that proposed a “straight, clean ban on members of Congress becoming paid lobbyists,” as long as there were “no partisan snuck-in clauses” and “no poison pills.” To which Cruz responded: “You’re on.” From there, the lawmakers’ plan for a lobbying ban gathered support from both sides of the aisle: Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz simply responded, “IN.”, while Republican Rep. Chip Roy signaled his interest and said his staff was reaching out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office. Ocasio-Cortez pointed out on Twitter that the issue now had at least one bipartisan team in both the House and Senate. “And that’s just in a few hours—there will surely be more from both parties to sign on,” she continued. “Nice.”

The rare bipartisan alliance came as droves of lawmakers from the last congressional session turned to lobbying after departing Capitol Hill. According to the Public Citizen article Ocasio-Cortez shared, of the retired and defeated U.S. lawmakers from the 115th Congress who found jobs outside of government, nearly two-thirds (59%) have joined lobbying firms or other groups that influence government activities. Those former lawmakers include Rep. Joe Crowley, who Ocasio-Cortez famously defeated in a stunning primary upset, along with former Sen. Jon Kyl and Reps. Lamar Smith and Lynn Jenkins, who launched her own lobbying firm even before leaving Congress. There are some lobbying rules in place: former senators are barred from lobbying Congress for two years, while representatives are barred for one year. But there are loopholes, as former lawmakers can simply call themselves “strategic consultants” who advise lobbyists, but do not directly do any lobbying themselves. While there’s a ban on lobbying Congress, ex-legislators can start lobbying the executive branch immediately—even if they’re lobbying to their former congressional colleagues. Former Rep. Jeff Dunham, who has now turned to lobbying the executive branch, told Politico that “A lot of my closest friends are the people I came in with”—namely, White House honchos Mike Pompeo and Mick Mulvaney.

This isn’t the first time lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have taken up the anti-lobbying cause. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Jon Tester, and Michael Bennet, and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner have all proposed lobbying bans in past congressional sessions, and lobbying bans have already been introduced this session by Republicans Sens. Rick Scott and Mike Braun and Rep. Trey Hollingsworth. A bill that passed the House in March, the For the People Act, would limit lobbying activities by defining “strategic consulting” as lobbying. Yet none of these past bills have managed to gain much traction, and adversaries have raised constitutional issues with the ban, since the First Amendment gives U.S. citizens the right to petition the government. But with such political star power behind it, will A.O.C. and Cruz’s nascent bill finally be the one that manages to breaks through? Given the idea’s current status as no more than a viral social media moment, it’s impossible to say. But if the deal does pan out, as Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Twitter Thursday: “This would be epic.”

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