JD Vance stumps for Long Island Republicans

Vice President JD Vance hosted a speaking event on Long Island Wednesday billed as a rally to “Protect Taxpayer Dollars” – while using taxpayer dollars to campaign for Mike LiPetri for Congress. 

At a soundstage in Bethpage, in Nassau County, Vance encouraged residents not to vote for LiPetri’s opponent, Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who he dubbed “the worst congressman in the United States." Vance also advertised his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way back to Faith.” 

Republicans are hoping to flip Suozzi’s North Shore congressional seat, which has changed hands in recent years and was formerly held by infamous Rep. George Santos. Suozzi is widely considered the favorite to hold onto the swing seat. 

With early voting in progress, the Trump administration has been deploying Vance across the country to get their endorsed candidates to win their primaries and get ready for the midterms in November. Vance’s visit follows a campaign stop from President Donald Trump himself, who visited New York last month to campaign for fellow swing district Rep. Mike Lawler. 

While most federal employees are bound by the Hatch Act that typically prevents partisan political activity, the president and vice president are exempted from that rule. 

“I’m asking you to vote for (LiPetri) because unlike Suozzi he’s going to fight for you,” Vance said. “It’s like (Gov. Kathy Hochul) had a brain transplant into Tom Suozzi because he doesn’t represent you, he represents her." 

Vance also attacked Suozzi for voting with his party against the “Big Beautiful Bill” and aligning with his “masters in Washington D.C.” He added that instead of voting in the interest of Long Island voters, “he voted for (former Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi instead of you.” 

Vance spent the majority of his speaking time on Suozzi and even went so far as to accuse him of insider trading: “This is a man who hates representing you but loves sitting at his desk and trading stocks.” 

Suozzi has been accused of violating the spirit of laws governing congressional stock trading and has a history of delayed or missing disclosures. 

Suozzi, in a hastily thrown together virtual press conference later in the day, refused to comment on any allegations of insider trading. He said he would be investigating Vance’s use of government funds to campaign for candidates running for office. He claimed the vice president spent over $100,000 of taxpayer dollars on the “completely political event.” 

And Suozzi didn’t appreciate being called “the worst congressman.” “The vice president comes across as a phony, as amateurish, as childish, as inexperienced and as tone deaf to what the problems are that the people face here,” he said.

Before the vice president arrived on stage, LiPetri and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman spoke to the crowd. Trump has personally endorsed Blakeman’s run for governor against Hochul. He’s also backed LiPetri, who’s running in the Republican primary this month against attorney Greg Hach. LiPetri, a former Assembly member, lost to Suozzi in 2024, and has been endorsed by the Nassau County Republican Party for a second attempt. 

He said New York’s Medicaid program was extremely wasteful and corrupt because the budget for New York is “the same as Florida and Texas combined,” but that Florida has 4 million more people. The DOJ announced a lawsuit Tuesday against the Hochul administration alleging an unlawful Medicaid home care scheme. 

LiPetri also criticized Hochul for passing laws limiting how local police can collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The event was billed as an opportunity for the vice president to discuss containing government fraudulent spending, as he leads the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

“What we are talking about today is not diminishing the quality of services that are given in Medicaid,” Blakeman said. “We want more money to improve those services for people who need healthcare under Medicaid, but we need to run out the fraud, waste, and abuse that takes place here in New York.”  

Blakeman has previously said he plans to cut Medicaid spending if elected. 

Hochul’s campaign took a shot at Blakeman for appearing at the event. “Bruce Blakeman drained resources from local cops and fighting crime to help Trump’s ICE trample over New Yorkers’ rights, he’s promised to gut Medicaid, just like Donald Trump, and he ran Long Island’s vital safety net hospital into the ground alongside his corrupt cronies,” Hochul ,” Hochul spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement to City“ State.ke his idol, Donald Trump, if Blakeman is looking for waste, fraud, and corruption, he can find it in his own backyard.”