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
Rep. Mike Lawler ‘accosted’ by Sen. Rand Paul’s son
Rep. Mike Lawler on Wednesday said he was accosted by the son of Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday night with a 10-minute “reprehensible” antisemitic rant.
The New York Republican told reporters the interaction occurred when he was on his way to a restaurant with at least one journalist. He said William Paul approached him and shouted at him and said he would blame “your people” if Rep. Thomas Massie loses his reelection bid.
“My people?” Lawler asked.
“Yeah, you Jews,” Paul replied.
Lawler said he told Paul that he isn’t Jewish and the senator’s son apologized before launched into an antisemitic diatribe.
“At one point, he said that he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die. And I think that’s fucking disgusting,” Lawler said.
The conversation, he said, ended soon thereafter, with Paul flipping him off and tripping on his way out the door.
In a post to X late Wednesday afternoon, Paul said he “had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am.”
“I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” he added. A spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I think it speaks to a larger issue, obviously, in society and what we’re seeing among young people and what we see online, and this is the level of hatred and vitriol, frankly, that some of my Jewish colleagues experience, that many of my constituents experience,” said Lawler.
Lawler represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is home to about 90,000 Jews, or about 12 percent of the district’s population.
“I’m not going to stop standing up for my constituents. I’m not going to stop standing up for the Judeo-Christian values that are at the core of our nation, our Constitution, our rule of law,” he said.
Congress
Lawmakers’ prescription data at risk after data breach
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill were informed this week of a data breach involving the congressional medical office that may have compromised personal information — including their prescription history.
The intrusions occurred March 1 and 3 and targeted RXNT, a medical software provider used by the Office of the Attending Physician to manage care for members of Congress, according to letters sent this week to affected individuals that were reviewed by Blue Light News.
Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, is making personal calls to staff and lawmakers whose data are affected, according to one person contacted by phone this week and alerted that their prescription history was among those breached.
RXNT’s software is intended to “securely transmit prescription information to pharmacies for fulfillment,” Monahan’s office explained in the letters to patients. Among the data accessed in the RXNT breach includes names, birthdays, addresses, prescription information, doctor information and pharmacy information.
Under federal law, the data breach has to be reported within 60 days of the intrusion being discovered. RXNT notified the attending physician’s office on the last possible day allowed under federal health privacy rules. That, in turn, might have delayed the OAP’s review of the impact of the breach on Capitol Hill patients, according to two people familiar with the timeline and granted anonymity to share private deliberations.
It is not clear what foreign or domestic entity conducted the breach and where the sensitive data on lawmakers’ health could end up.
Financial data, insurance information and Social Security numbers were not compromised, nor were any patient records maintained by the Office of the Attending Physician that were not shared with RXNT. Such records, which include extensive information on lawmakers’ health history and medical treatments, “remain secured within the walls of Congress” and are “not cloud based,” according to the notice shared with affected patients on Capitol Hill.
“The OAP only provides the minimum information required to process prescription services,” the letter reads.
The Office of the Attending Physician operates several small medical clinics on the Capitol campus where Navy medical personnel handle both emergencies and primary health care for lawmakers, while also providing vaccinations and minor medical services for congressional aides. Staff are able to procure prescriptions through the OAP in limited circumstances, including for official travel and follow-up care.
Congress
Speaker calls allegations against Chuck Edwards ‘serious’
Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday the allegations against Rep. Chuck Edwards are “serious” and that he has spoken to the North Carolina Republican — who reportedly denied them all.
Johnson also noted an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and harassment accusations against Edwards, who is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a staffer, among other things.
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