Republican uses photo with Pelosi to poke at toppled House Dem campaign chief
Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) poked fun at Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), whom he ousted last week, after Maloney posted a celebratory photo of himself and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Maloney, who chairs House Democrats’ campaign arm, narrowly lost his race last week, a stunning defeat for the man charged with propelling his colleagues to victory.
“Worth it. @SpeakerPelosi,” Maloney tweeted on Saturday night in front of a whiteboard showing which House races had been called and which remained up for grabs.
On Monday, Lawler posted a photo of himself and Pelosi in what appears to be the Capitol with the same caption.
“Worth it,” Lawler wrote.
Lawler and other newly elected House members are traveling to Washington this week for orientation.
Earlier this year, Maloney announced his candidacy for the 17th Congressional District, switching seats almost immediately after the state approved new maps, a move that angered many Democrats.
But Maloney lost to Lawler by 0.8 percentage points in the general election, one of multiple defeats for Democrats in New York that have increased Republican chances of taking the majority.
Control of the House remains uncalled, but Republicans appear favored to win a narrow majority — well short of the “red wave” forecast by many in the party.
Pelosi had lauded Maloney’s leadership during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with co-anchor Dana Bash on Sunday.
“Sean Patrick Maloney did an outstanding job as the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,” Pelosi said.
“He and the team that he assembled deserve a great deal of credit for keeping us with a path,” Pelosi added. “I’m sorry about his loss. It’s a big loss to the Congress and the country.”
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