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

Congress
Senate Finance Republicans to huddle with Trump on taxes
Senate Finance Committee Republicans will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss the path forward for crafting legislation to enact broad swaths of the administration’s domestic agenda.
“The president has invited us to join him tomorrow at the White House,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, who sits on the panel, told reporters Wednesday.
One Republican granted anonymity to discuss the agenda for a private meeting said one topic of the conversation will be on whether to use the so-called current policy baseline to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. That accounting method would make it appear as though extending those tax cuts costs nothing. But it’s a controversial tactic among fiscal conservatives who worry that leadership is using it to hide the cost of the party-line bill they want to pass through budget reconciliation — and reduce the need for steep spending cuts to finance that bill.
The meeting also will focus on larger tax policy priorities, the Republican said. Senate Republicans, after initially favoring a two-track approach through reconciliation that would front-load border security, defense and energy policies in one bill before focusing on tax cuts in the next, are now moving towards embracing the House GOP’s approach, which would roll those policies with tax cuts into a single piece of legislation.
Leaders of both chambers are expected to discuss how to resolve differences between their budget resolutions in the coming weeks. The House and Senate each needs to pass the same resolution before the reconciliation process can begin in earnest.
Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee are holding another all-day meeting Wednesday to determine what will go into the tax portion of the reconciliation bill. The tax writers kicked off deliberations on Monday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Congress
Senate Democrats take stock of their shutdown pickle
Senate Democrats are grappling with whether or not to support a House GOP funding patch less than three days before a possible government shutdown.
With 52 Republicans expected to back the House-passed stopgap, eight Democrats would need to help advance it to a final Senate vote. So far only one — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — has indicated he’ll support it. Other key swing voters are on the fence.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told reporters Wednesday that he remains undecided on the seven-month funding bill, which passed the House mostly along party lines Tuesday. Asked when he would make a decision, he quipped he’d make up his mind before the end of the Senate vote on the bill, which hasn’t yet been scheduled.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) also didn’t rule out voting for the bill during a brief interview but said that he’s in talks with leadership about trying to get amendment votes to make changes to the legislation.
“We need to try to get some amendments to make it better,” he said.
The lingering indecision comes as Senate Democrats plan to meet Wednesday afternoon for a closed-door lunch where they are expected to discuss their strategy ahead of the Friday midnight shutdown deadline. They face growing pressure from the left flank of their party to oppose the House bill, but it’s not clear any Plan B could pass in time to avoid a shutdown. House GOP leaders adjourned the chamber Tuesday night, with members not due to return to Washington until March 24.
Democrats are privately wrestling with a politically treacherous choice: They don’t want to be blamed for a shutdown and typically eschew brinkmanship politics. And while they don’t want to risk further empowering President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk as they slash the federal government, some within the caucus are worried that allowing a government shutdown would only play into the two men’s hands.
One Senate Democrat said Wednesday he will not help pass the bill.
“I do not want to shut down our government, I want to improve it, streamline it and ensure it delivers services our communities need,” Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said in a statement.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, joined a chorus of progressives publicly urging Senate Democrats to unite against the bill. She made clear that their opposition should include the 60-vote threshold procedural vote for breaking a filibuster.
“People aren’t going to be tricked with procedural games. They know exactly what is going on,” she wrote in an online post.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans made it clear on Wednesday that they are gearing up to blame Democrats — and specifically Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — if there is a shutdown. Democrats have tried to put the onus on Republicans to come up with a funding plan that could pass both chambers given that they control Congress and the White House.
“We’re about to find out whether Senate Democrats care more about the American people or putting on a dramatic act for their base. Let’s hope we can avoid the Schumer Shut Down,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the No. 3 Senate Republican, wrote as part of a series of tweets on government funding.
Congress
Johnson pledges House probe into Tesla threats
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said Congress will probe “domestic terrorism” attacks targeting the Tesla car brand after vehicles and storefronts were vandalized.
“Congress will investigate the sources of these attacks and help the DOJ & FBI ensure those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Johnson said in a post on X.
Johnson’s announcement is the latest attempt by Republican leaders to rally around Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk after Tesla’s stock price took a dive in recent days and the company faced a wave of attacks and heated demonstrations. Trump said this week he would buy a Tesla in support of Musk.
Johnson did not explain what committees would be empowered to lead the investigations. Spokespeople for Johnson and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
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