Former Republican Rep. George Santos of New York, who was expelled from office last year, has announced a congressional bid.
"New York hasn't had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like @nicklalota. He is a willing to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain," Santos tweeted on Thursday night.
"Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over #NY1. I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country," he wrote.
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Santos served as the representative for New York's Third Congressional District during most of last year, but in December was expelled from the House in a 311-114 vote
In February, Democrat Tom Suozzi won the seat during a special election.
"To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos. If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in," Nick LaLota tweeted.
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Santos attended President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Thursday night.
Earlier this year, the former congressman expressed interest in serving as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if former President Donald Trump becomes president again.
"My new year resolution is that President Trump returns to the white house and in 2025 I can be appointed Director of ICE," Santos said in a tweet. "ICE has had their hands tied for far too long with the sole exception of the great four years of DJT. The time is now and that's why I'm putting my name in the mix for a role that will take grit and a fearless person and not a coward that will fear media spin."
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Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) made clear Monday that he will not stand for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) suggesting that he is "comfortable" with civilian deaths in Gaza.
Last Friday, Omar lost her cool when a reporter confronted her and other far-left House Democrats who were demanding a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza with criticism from Torres. Though Torres is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, he separates himself from most of his caucus colleagues by being an ardent supporter of Israel. He has rebuked the call for a ceasefire.
At the press conference, Omar instructed a reporter, "That's the question you should ask Ritchie: How many more Palestinian lives is he comfortable with?"
Responding to Omar's outburst, Torres told CNN that he "resent[s]" Omar's accusation and reminded CNN's viewers of Omar's voting history regarding offering Israel protection.
"You know, my colleague, Rep. Omar, has voted against Iron Dome, which is a missile defense system that protects Israeli civilians from relentless rocket fire. If it were not for Iron Dome interceptions, there would be far more dead Israelis, far more, by orders of magnitude," he explained. "And so, the policy position that she has taken would have led to more dead Israelis and more dead Palestinians."
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Importantly, Torres reminded CNN that "Israel did not start the war." Rather, the war "was imposed upon Israel by the barbaric terrorism of Hamas. which butchered 1,400 Israelis, including babies."
Earlier in the interview, Torres expressed concern that among progressives, there has been "a concerted campaign to demonize Israel, as if it is the root of all evil."
"When you systematically demonize Israel, what inevitably follows is the dehumanization of Israeli victims. What inevitably follows is the Democratic socialist rally that glorifies the terrorism of Hamas," Torres pointed out.
"The hatred for Israel has been taken too far," he declared. "And, you know, hatred is dangerous because it could easily harden into violence."
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