The Capitol was abuzz with activity as former and current lawmakers crisscrossed the historic building, bumping into old friends and familiar faces. Vice President-elect JD Vance, R-Ohio, was seen shuttling President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees through a series of meetings with senators. Vance, at just 40 years old, is set to become the youngest vice president since 1857, alongside President James Buchanan.
One of the nominees Vance facilitated meetings for was former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who had been tapped as the president-elect’s first attorney general candidate. However, Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress after his nomination, citing distractions and the need to avoid a protracted Washington scuffle. Gaetz’s resignation left many scratching their heads, as he had just won re-election and seemed poised for a prominent role in the new administration.
Following Gaetz’s withdrawal, former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who had been expelled from the House nearly a year ago, made an appearance at the Capitol. Santos, who was looking for House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., seemed eager to share his thoughts with the press. Despite his expulsion, Santos still had access to the Capitol complex as a former member, a loophole that some lawmakers had vowed to close but never did.
Santos expressed his support for President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks and criticized Guest for his handling of Santos’ own ethics report, which ultimately led to his expulsion. The former lawmaker also commented on the House Ethics Committee’s report on Gaetz, questioning whether it should be made public now that Gaetz was no longer a member of Congress.
See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"
As the day unfolded, the Capitol saw a mix of current and former lawmakers coming and going, each with their own agenda and perspective. The familiar faces and old friends that filled the halls served as a reminder of the ever-changing landscape of politics and power in Washington, D.C. Whether they were there to advocate for a cause, seek redemption, or simply catch up with colleagues, those who toil in Congress found themselves in the midst of a whirlwind of activity and intrigue in the old familiar places of the U.S. Capitol.
