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Laura Gillen defeats Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in heated NY rematch focused on border security

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NEW YORK — Democratic challenger Laura Gillen notched an upset Tuesday night over first-term GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in New York City’s suburbs, flipping a highly coveted seat in a racially diverse district spanning the South Shore of western Long Island.

The win by Gillen, a former local government official, gives Democrats a much-needed boost in their quest to retake the House and returns some partisan balance in a region largely governed by Republicans at local and state levels.

Gillen, previously the town of Hempstead’s supervisor, had narrowly lost a bid against D’Esposito for the seat in 2022.

D’Esposito, a freshman member of Congress and former NYPD detective, faced scandal in the final months of his campaign after a September New York Times exposé revealed he had an affair and put his lover and his fiancee’s daughter on his payroll.

He has denied he violated House ethics rules.

Gillen’s path to victory was paved by Democrats’ outreach to Black and Latino voters in the district, her argument that she’s better positioned to work across the aisle and her message that her party cares about securing the border. Her prospects improved after Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Congressional races on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and in central New York are expected to help determine whether Mike Johnson or Hakeem Jeffries serves as speaker next year.

In 2022, D’Esposito flipped the NY-04 red after former Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice opted not to seek reelection.

It made the district one of a handful in the House where voters chose Biden in 2020 but elected a GOP House member two years later. The victory was part of a red wave that engulfed the state as Republicans flipped four New York House seats red.

D’Esposito, who was instrumental in getting then-colleague Rep. George Santos expelled, was a face of the storied Nassau County Republican Party and a leader that Donald Trump touted when he visited the district in September.

As one of the few women challengers Democrats floated in the battlegrounds of California and New York, Gillen proved to be a prolific fundraiser. She brought in $2.4 million in the third quarter of her campaign and $1.9 million in the second quarter.

Democratic attacks on D’Esposito often focused less on the accusations of patronage and nepotism and more on misconduct complaints against him that were lodged during his days as a police officer. He was accused of lying under oath, a matter New York City settled with $250,000 in taxpayer money, and he failed to secure his gun, which was stolen from him.

D’Esposito defended his police record in their sole debate. He accused Gillen of patronage and sought to use her record as town supervisor against her. He repeatedly attacked her as a liar, a gaslighter and someone he described as ineffective in the Hempstead government where they both served.

His ads targeted Gillen as an ally of unpopular Democratic leaders, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who he and other vulnerable New York Republicans painted as soft on migrants and crime.

“My opponent and Democrats throughout the country told us that the border was secure, and they said that the economy was booming,” D’Esposito said at the News 12 debate. “All of a sudden Kamala Harris becomes the nominee, and now they want to secure the border and they want to fix the economy. They’re lying to everyone.”

Gillen sought to paint D’Esposito as enabling a highly ineffective and dysfunctional Republican-controlled Congress, noting that House Republicans rejected the Senate’s bipartisan border deal.

“You send me to Congress,” she said in one ad. “I will work with anyone from any party to secure our southern border, lock up criminals pushing fentanyl and stop the migrant crisis.”

The Democrat also insisted that the GOP incumbent would green-light a nationwide abortion ban supported by Speaker Johnson.

D’Esposito, like other moderate Republicans fighting for their political lives in blue states, said he would not vote for a federal ban and accused Democrats of misrepresenting his views for political gain.

Democratic leaders stumped in the district for Gillen over the course of the race. They included House Minority Leader Jeffries, House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark.

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Congress

Ed Martin, Trump’s controversial U.S. attorney pick, on thin ice in the Senate

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President Trump’s pick to be Washington’s top prosecutor appears to be in trouble with Senate Republicans.

No GOP senator has said they will oppose Ed Martin to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a spot he currently fills in an acting capacity. But several are publicly raising concerns or refusing to say if they will vote for him — an unusual posture for senators who have been largely deferential to Trump’s nominees.

“I’m hearing that at least a couple members of the [Senate Judiciary] Committee have expressed some concerns about him,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is not a member of the panel.

The Judiciary Committee won’t hold a hearing on Martin’s nomination, in line with the panel’s precedent for U.S. attorney picks. Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a brief interview this week that he hasn’t yet determined when to schedule a vote to advance Martin, noting that members want to meet with him and that the committee is working through his responses to hundreds of submitted questions.

It’s not clear that Martin will be able to get through the committee, which is split 12-10 — meaning opposition from one GOP senator would be enough to deadlock the panel. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), one of the most vulnerable members up for reelection in 2026, expressed concerns over his previous comments minimizing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

“I’ll be meeting with him,” Tillis said. “We’ve just got to be very careful because this place suddenly becomes a target if we feel like we have a prosecutor who’s not inclined to prosecute those kinds of cases. So I just need to get comfortable.”

Asked Thursday if he thought Martin had the votes, Thune said “he’s got out of the committee first, so we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” If the panel deadlocks, Thune could still try to get Martin’s nomination to the floor, but it wouldn’t bode well for his chances of confirmation.

Senate Republicans haven’t formally rejected any of Trump’s nominees so far, and some hinted this week they were waiting to see if they would be forced to vote on him or if the White House would pull the nomination given the potential opposition. Given their 53-seat majority, four Senate Republicans would need to vote against him along with every Democrat and independent.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a leadership adviser who is on the Judiciary Committee, declined on Thursday to say if he would vote for Martin, adding, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Murkowski said she did not currently have a meeting scheduled with Martin, but that “if his nomination seems to be moving forward and it was clear that I was going to be in a position where I would have to vote on the floor — yeah, I would want to meet him.”

Martin has previously been critical of or called for primary challenges against some of the same Senate Republicans who now hold the fate of his nomination in their hands. Among the senators Martin has previously targeted are Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who would both likely be key votes if he gets to the floor.

But it’s his previous comments and actions related to Jan. 6 that have sparked the most public heartburn among GOP senators, including from Murkowski and Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah). Martin backed the “stop the steal” movement in the wake of the 2020 election, defended Jan. 6 rioters and has launched an investigation into the Justice Department’s charges against some of those who participated in the riot.

Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.

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Congress

Impeachment snafu prompts a friendly reminder to House Democratic aides

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A top aide to Rep. Jerry Nadler reminded fellow Democratic staffers to let each other know when their bosses sign on to bills after several lawmakers removed themselves as cosponsors from Rep. Shri Thanedar’s impeachment resolution targeting President Donald Trump.

“Members can walk away with different impressions of a conversation, and a quick check-in with staff can go a long way in avoiding confusion,” the aide, Andrew Heineman, wrote in an Thursday email to all Democratic legislative directors obtained by Blue Light News. “I don’t think any of us want to learn that their boss was added to a bill that’s been introduced from a Google Alert.”

Thanedar (D-Mich.) introduced a resolution Monday to impeach Trump with four Democrats listed as cosponsors: Nadler of New York, plus Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Robin Kelly of Illinois and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland. All four have since withdrawn as cosponsors and implied that they were mistakenly added to the legislation after conversations with Thanedar.

Thanedar’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“The Congresswoman was under the impression that the resolution was drafted and reviewed by experts from the House Judiciary Committee,” Kelly’s spokesperson said.

A Mfume spokesperson said he removed himself “because he was made aware it was not cleared by Democratic leadership and not fully vetted legally — and he preferred to err on the side of caution.”

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Crockett starts stumping for Oversight post, telling colleagues she’s ‘made for the moment’

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas has started pitching fellow Democrats on a run for the party’s top Oversight Committee position, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Crockett’s entreaties — playing out in phone calls, text messages and floor conversations — mark the beginning of a contested race to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) as Oversight’s ranking member. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts is also seeking the job, though Connolly — who announced plans to step aside after suffering a recurrence of esophageal cancer — has not yet formally done so.

Crockett has told other lawmakers that she’s “made for the moment,” the people said, an apparent reference to the desire among Democratic voters for more forceful resistance to President Donald Trump.

She told Blue Light News in a text message that, while there isn’t a vacancy, “knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.”

She added, “I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m not interested in leading our investigative body while also communicating & educating the country on our findings.”

Semafor first reported that Crockett intended to seek the top Oversight post.

Crockett could be part of a crowded field of younger progressive Democrats who seek the job, including Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Ro Khanna of California and Maxwell Frost of Florida.

But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York could clear the field if she chooses to run. She lost to Connolly when she ran for the Oversight job last year and has since said she’s “weighing” a bid to run.

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