Vulnerable Democrat Pursues ‘Shameless’ Campaign Tactic — After Being Called Out The First Time

Just months after facing backlash for touting federal funding she opposed, New York Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen was once again smiling behind a massive check tied to funding she voted against.

Gillen, a freshman lawmaker facing a potentially tough reelection race in a swing seat on Long Island, celebrated the $500,000 in federal funding for a local fire department that she personally requested during this year’s appropriations process. What she left out of her Feb. 13 remarks was that she fiercely opposed the spending bill containing funding for the project when it was introduced in the House. (RELATED: Democrats who voted against the shutdown deal took a victory lap for the millions of dollars it gave their districts)

Gillen, like virtually all House Democrats, voted against a sweeping government spending package in early February, citing his opposition to funding federal immigration enforcement. Only 21 Democrats broke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to support the package.

“We must stay the course and exercise our power to get real, meaningful reforms to ICE immediately,” Gillen wrote on X of his “no” vote. “The CR does nothing to achieve these objectives and I therefore could not vote for it.”

The funding included a $500,000 allocation from Gillen for renovations and structural repairs to the Garden City Fire Station. The Long Island Democrat also secured an additional $8 million to fund community projects under the measure, which she ultimately voted against.

Gillen still held a press conference ten days later, praising his success in securing project funding for his district.

“For nearly 12 years, the Garden City Fire Station has sought critical funding to renovate its 100-year-old station and meet the needs of a modern firefighting force,” Gillen wrote on Facebook. “I am proud to have secured this critical funding to upgrade the fire station, strengthen emergency response and support the brave men and women who protect our community every day.

A spokesperson for Gillen did not respond to a request for comment regarding his vote against the funding.

Democratic lawmakers — particularly those seeking re-election in battleground House seats — regularly take credit for funding community projects they voted against during the second Trump administration.

In November, Gillen called for an appropriation of $938,000 in federal funding for another fire department in his district, despite his opposition to the spending bill containing that money.

“I’m so excited to get this funding,” Gillen said during a news conference outside the Bellrose Fire Department.

She participated in a photo op with local officials while holding a large cardboard check for a nearly $1 million award to upgrade the department’s aging fire trucks. It is unclear whether officials knew that Gillen had voted against funding the project for which she held the “check” in her hands.

The Nassau County Republican Committee called the event “brazen” in a statement on X.

“She voted NO on the fire truck,” the group wrote. “Then she showed up like she paid for it.”

New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represents another Long Island seat bordering Gillen’s, also took a victory lap by securing $17 million in community project funding during this year’s appropriations process.

“I’m always trying to bring money back to my district, and over the past two weeks I’ve had new success doing just that,” the New York Democrat wrote in an op-ed Wednesday for the New York-based Long Island Herald.

Suozzi did not disclose that he voted against a spending bill containing more than $5 million in funding.

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 17: Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY) speaks with members of the media in front of the United States Capitol on December 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

The two Long Island Democrats complained about high taxes while touting taxpayer-funded projects, despite voting against President Donald Trump’s tax cuts for working families, formerly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed a series of new tax cuts and expanded existing benefits.

“In the coming months, I will propose a sweeping change to the federal tax code to try to bring more money back from New Yorkers to New York, in order to reduce our tax burden,” Suozzi wrote.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the campaign arm of House Republicans, criticized Gillen and Suozzi for bragging to their constituents about funding local projects they voted against.

“Two-faced Tom Suozzi and serial freeloader Laura Gillen are blatantly taking credit for critical funding they attempted to block,” NRC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Republicans provided this funding, not Suozzi and Gillen. We will make sure voters know that.”

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