With the House having expelled now former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) last month, a special election is set to take place on February 13 to fill the vacancy. Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) who left his seat to mount an unsuccessful primary challenge against Gov. Kathy Hochul, is now running again for his old seat. It looks like he's having a hard time being critical of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) as footage obtained by Townhall shows.
"Tom, why won't you call for Tlaib to be expelled from the House, the Democratic caucus for blaming Israel for Hamas' attack," a man could be heard questioning as he tries to speak to Suozzi. The Democratic nominee initially ignores the man as he heads for a waiting car, but then says "I didn't hear what you said" when the other man prompts him by asking "no answer?"
"Why won't you call for Tlaib to be expelled from the Democratic caucus for blaming Israel for Hamas' attack," the man asking questions repeats. Another man, presumably a staffer, tries to block any further interaction between the two, even putting his hand up to block the camera, before Suozzi eventually comes up with an answer to the question of "why won't you call for Tlaib to be expelled from the House Caucus, Democratic Caucus for blaming Israel?"
What answer the former congressman ended up providing though was very much a non-answer. "I've always stood for Israel, I will always stand for Israel. I'm one of the strongest Democrats ever, pro-Israel, from this area, and I always will be," Suozzi insisted before thanking the man asking questions.
And yet such a response does said nothing about Tlaib. Further, if Suozzi is such a strong supporter of our ally in the Middle East, it further begs the question as to why he won't denounce Tlaib. The congresswoman was censured last November by a bipartisan vote. She was also crowned the "2023 Antisemite of the Year" just earlier this week by Stop Antisemitism.
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Tlaib continues to be in the news, as she and other Squad members issued statements in support of South Africa bringing charges of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). A post from her official X account was also slapped with context from Community Notes, as she claimed that Biden "is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval." The president ordered such airstrikes on Thursday in response to anti-Israel Houthi rebels firing missiles on U.S. warships.
.@POTUS is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval. The American people are tired of endless war.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 12, 2024
While Suozzi won't speak about Tlaib, his voting record says enough. In a comparison between the two members when they were both in the House for the 116th Congress from 2019-2020, they voted together 93 percent of the time.
"Tom Suozzi voted with “Antisemite of the Year” Rashida Tlaib 93% of the time, his refusal to answer whether he would vote to remove her from the Democratic caucus says more about him than it does about her," said National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Spokeswoman Savannah Vir in a statement for Townhall.
It's not merely their voting records that are relevant here. Further, an article from The New York Post dated December 11, 2021 highlights how "Tom Suozzi once asked to be an honorary member of AOC’s 'Squad,'" which is comprised of more anti-Israel and antisemitic members besides Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) referenced in the headline. The article also discussed how Suozzi was running for governor, though he ultimately came in third place with just 13 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.
Suozzi is running against Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip, a black Orthodox Jew who immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel when she was 12-years-old.
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