This week, extreme New York Republicans Anthony D’Esposito, George Santos, Mike Lawler, and Brandon Williams headed back to Washington after weeks of being called out by New Yorkers for being completely out of touch.
Over the past several weeks, New Yorkers have slammed the vulnerable New York freshmen for protecting criminally-indicted George Santos, contradicting campaign promises on public safety, and prioritizing radical party politics over their communities.
Central New York needs a member of Congress who will represent our interests in the halls of Washington, not one who will seek to advance the politically motivated whims of Marjorie Taylor Greene and other party extremists and his wealthy donors.
Congress is returning to Washington and our Rep. Brandon Williams should be showing up ready to address issues that matter to us.
He and the MAGA-controlled Congress are threatening to shut down the government to demand decreases in funding including for teachers and our schools, roll back already insufficient action on climate change, and provide tax cuts for the wealthy. And he is working to undo protections for workers — such as protections for farmworkers to receive a fair wage.
Williams is failing Central New York and we shouldn’t turn the other way and let him… And if he refuses to listen, we should find someone else to represent us who will prioritize the needs of Central New York above the needs of their wealthy donors and those of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Santos’s record of fraud has triggered federal investigations, an indictment and an ethics inquiry. And yet he still maintains his seat in Congress. Why? Mostly because the Speaker of the House needs his vote. He is not voting to represent our state or even his district. He is voting to maintain the power of his party in Congress.
And here’s the thing: Our representative, Congressman Brandon Williams, says that Santos should resign but hasn’t done anything to make that happen. Williams should be taking a more active role in persuading his caucus of this, especially in relation to the Speaker of the House. Shameful!
I was very disappointed to see that, in his first year in office, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito voted alongside other Republicans to cut funding for vital services that Long Islanders rely on, including Medicaid, K-12 education, and nutrition programs. What’s worse is that he did all this with his fellow Republicans in the House so that they could continue to hand out huge tax cuts to corporations and billionaires, who already don’t pay anywhere near their fair share.
My relatives and neighbors here on Long Island rely on Medicaid. It is a total betrayal of constituents like me that D’Esposito broke his campaign promise to “never support cuts” to Medicaid by voting for the GOP’s extreme proposal this spring. Luckily, this bill didn’t become law because Senate Democrats and President Biden refused to support it. But it’s frightening that D’Esposito was so quick to vote with extreme MAGA Republicans, and against Long Islanders’ best interests.
Though Mr. Lawler campaigned as an advocate for common-sense gun safety measures, he has done nothing to advance gun safety. Instead, he voted to deregulate pistol braces that are popular among mass murderers and cop killers.
