Welcome back to Hill Happenings, your source for the most and least talked about stories on and around Capitol Hill. In a nutshell – these are the stories we won't miss – even if others have.
Despite today being the tail end of a recess week, there is no shortage of news to cover!
First up, Virginia's 8th District Congressman Don Beyer is in the news again for his poor oversight of personnel.
Beyer's official Congressional Communications Director and Deputy Chief of Staff Aaron Fritschner is being called out by a number of conservatives on Twitter for being a political hack – on the taxpayer dime.
Politico, along with every other media outlet has been cornering New York's embattled Freshman Congress George Santos for interviews, and due to the proximity of his office to Beyer's, Fritschner has lent them a helping hand.
Politico reports the following in Huddle:
Weeks into the new Congress, the media circus surrounding the embattled freshman New Yorker has not let up. More than a dozen reporters and photographers are stationed outside his fledgling office whenever the House is in session. The New York Republican is accused of lying about everything from his credentials and volleyball career to his Jewish heritage and the stories keep coming.
“When the elevator doors open, it's like a red carpet spray of cameras and like 10 lights that are like pointed at the elevator door,” one of Santos' neighbors in Longworth described to Huddle. “I'm just like, ‘hey, sorry guys, I'm not him. I'm just gonna squeeze by real quick and go to my office.'”
Some staff on the hall are having more fun with it than others. Aaron Fritschner from Rep. Don Beyer's (D-Va.) office has taken to flagging for the press hordes if he sees Santos exiting a side door, setting off a scramble to chase Santos.
“I've done it twice. Now. I'm gonna keep on doing it for as long as he's there. And it seems like he's not going anywhere,” Fritschner told Huddle.
This in no way excuses the actions of Santos, but constituents of VA-08 – such as myself – should be aware that their Representative and his staff are more concerned with gaining cheap political points, rather than adequately serving their needs.
As previously noted, Fritschner's actions drew the ire of several conservatives on Twitter.
Miranda Dabney – a staffer for the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – paralleled the professionalism with which Republican vs Democrat Hill staffers handle themselves in their roles:
Matt Whitlock – formerly of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) – also shared concerns similar to my own over what Beyer's team is doing on the taxpayer dime:
Of course, this is nowhere near the first time that Team Beyer has made headlines for their lapsed judgment regarding members of their team. As I previously covered in The Republican Standard, a former member of Beyer's team was revealed to have ties to the Chinese Embassy in DC. That staffer was allegedly fired after the information was unearthed by National Review.
Now, speaking of George Santos, yet another of his lies has been uncovered by the press and it's pretty bad. A homeless veteran alleges that Santos at one time raised money for him to pay for surgery for his service dog, and that he never saw a dime of the money. Read all about this latest Santos scandal here:
Other Hill News: Florida Representative Defends Davos Appearance, Immigration Reform Work
Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar snapped back at Fox News Host Tucker Carlson in a tweet after he attacked her appearance at this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, as well as her latest work on an immigration reform proposal which proponents such as herself are calling the “Dignity Act.”
Here is the tweet from Salazar's team:
As well as the original Fox News segment of Tucker's Show:
As an immigrant and naturalized U.S. Citizen myself, I believe both Tucker and Congresswoman Salazar make valid points in their respective arguments. In the segment of Salazar's speech pulled for Tucker's show, she does advocate that the first step in comprehensive immigration reform should be securing the Southern Border. This I agree with. However, I also agree with a point made by Tucker that Salazar's first duty is to her constituents and the voters – who by default are U.S. citizens – that elected her, not to foreigners living here illegally. I'm sure this is nowhere near the last debate of this type that will go on among Republicans in the coming months as a divided Congress tries to tackle much-needed immigration reform.
One Last Thing: Florida Congressman Injured In Accident
Per a tweet from his office yesterday, Greg Steube – Representative for Florida's 17th Congressional District – has been injured in an accident at his home. The following original statement and updates have been issued by his office.
The news has been met with hundreds of prayers and well wishes for the Congressman. For more updates on the Congressman's situation, please refer to the following story:
Also, please join his well-wishers and myself in praying for a speedy recovery and return to Washington.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
We don’t WANT amnesty for illegals. Get to the back of the line and file papers like the HONEST immigrants. Yes, speak at Davos BUT do like TRUMP; speak up FOR America!
Going to Davos and promoting amnesty for illegal aliens is not appropriate. Is she trying to impress Soros.
she warrants a new descriptive title:”Demoputa” to describe her willingness to sell out true conservative values.