US House Speaker Pelosi all smiles after meeting with Ocasio-Cortez

USHouse Speaker NancyPelosisaid she and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had no hatchet to bury on Friday, playing down tensions after a meeting between the powerful speaker and freshman lawmaker who in recent months has seized the Democratic Party spotlight.

In clashes with her own party leaders as well as the White House over border aid and other issues, Ocasio-Cortez and a handful of other left-wing Democratic progressives have become a target for President Donald Trump and his Republicans heading into the 2020 US elections.

The rise of "the squad," as Ocasio-Cortez's small group of four minority congresswomen is known, has sometimes appeared to strainPelosi's patience as she works to keep House Democrats unified and to restrain demands from many lawmakers to start impeachment proceedings against Trump.

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In a news conference on Friday,Pelosiminimized divisions with Ocasio-Cortez and the other three squad members - Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.

Asked if she and Ocasio-Cortez had buried the hatchet,Pelositold reporters, "I don't think there ever was any hatchet."

"These, some personality issues and the rest, they are minor," she said.

"We sat down today. We had a good meeting. And the congresswoman is a very gracious member of Congress, so we had a very positive conversation about our districts and how we represent them, our country."

Pelosialso said that differences of opinion in the Democratic Party should be respected.

"We are not lockstep, rubber-stamp representation of anything," the speaker said, recalling past party brawls over issues such as the Iraq war.

Later Friday, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters the meeting withPelosihad been positive and productive.

"I'm looking forward to us continuing our work," she said as she left a House committee room, several news outlets reported.

The Capitol Hill meeting withPelosicame at the request of the 29-year-old Ocasio-Cortez as Congress departed Washington for a six-week break with an uncertain outlook for Democrats' legislative agenda and their multiple investigations of Trump.

The speaker, who is 79, declined to list her policy differences with Ocasio-Cortez, but others did on Twitter. They "hold different positions on Medicare for All, free college and cancelling student debt, taking corporate donations, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and border issues, impeachment," wrote Waleed Shahid, communications director for the Justice Democrats, a left-wing group that helped launch Ocasio-Cortez's political career last year.

Initiating an impeachment proceeding against Trump remains high on the priority list for Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez whilePelosihas worked to rein in impeachment demands.

At least 90 House of Representatives Democrats as of early this week had said they support starting impeachment investigations against Trump.

Earlier this monthPelosiappeared dismissive of the influence of Ocasio-Cortez and the squad in an interview with the New York Times. Ocasio-Cortez responded by telling the Washington Post that she thoughtPelosihad been "disrespectful."

Trump then attacked the minority lawmakers in tweets that the House of Representatives, underPelosi’s leadership, afterwards voted to condemn as racist.

While Trump’s attack was seen by some as an attempt to divide Democrats, it gavePelosia chance to come to the squad’s defence and reset her relationship with the lawmakers as the 2020 congressional and presidential elections approach.

Sarah Matthews, the Trump campaign's deputy press secretary, on Friday poked fun at the meeting ofPelosiand Ocasio-Cortez, saying, "So nice for the leader of the Democratic party to take time out of her busy schedule to meet with NancyPelosi."