Long Island Republican trio goes rogue, votes for Lee Zeldin for speaker of the House

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin may be gone from Congress, but he's certainly not forgotten.

Despite the fact that he’s no longer a New York representative, Zeldin managed to snag three votes for speaker of the House Tuesday thanks to a trio of fellow Long Island Republicans.

Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota all voted for the former Republican gubernatorial candidate, chipping away at the votes that hard-right Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan needed to become speaker two weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic removal from the speakership. Jordan, who was nominated by House Republicans last week, ultimately failed to secure enough votes Tuesday, meaning another vote will need to be held.

D'Esposito, Garbarino and LaLota’s votes come amid a concentrated push from Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to attack vulnerable Republicans ahead of the 2024 election. As NY1 reported, Jordan’s conservative politics – like his co-founding of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and his lead role in opposing the 2020 election results – would be unlikely to play well in New York swing districts. Zeldin, on the other hand, managed to give Gov. Kathy Hochul a run for her money in deep blue New York in 2022. D'Esposito and LaLota are among the six New York Republicans targeted by Democrats for representing districts Biden carried in 2020. 

Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler, also a target of Democrats, was among a group of six individuals who voted for McCarthy Tuesday. Not all New York Republicans went rogue – Reps. Nick Langworthy, Nicole Malliotakis, Marc Molinaro, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney, Brandon Williams and the embattled George Santos all fell in line with the majority of their party. 

Unsurprisingly, New York’s Democratic congressional delegation all voted for Jeffries, who with 212 votes ultimately garnered the most support, albeit not enough to secure speakership.