D’Esposito gets to work on Capitol Hill

By ANA BORRUTO aborruto@liherald.com

It’s certainly been an interesting process getting acclimated to Washington, and his new role as a congressman. But U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is happy to finally get to settle down and tackle his new role on Capitol Hill.

From police officer to detective in the New York Police Department. An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter to fire chief. And now Hempstead town councilman to congressman, the 40-year-old Island Park native describes looking back at his journey as a surreal experience.

Orientation for incoming congressional members like D’Esposito began the Sunday after Election Day — a point where some candidates were still waiting for their races to be called. Still, freshmen members of the House undergo a two-week icebreaker period where they get to know one another and learn how everything we see on C-SPAN operates.

“In politics in general — but specifically in Washington — you look at where people sit on the (House) floor, and it’s literally divided by an aisle,” D’Esposito said. “When we went to orientation, you walked into the hotel or you walked into different events, everyone just had a nametag on.”

It said who they were and where they were from, but there was no “D” or “R” labelling them as Democrats or Republicans.

“I think it gave (us) the opportunity to really meet people with an open mind,” he said.

D’Esposito is now almost a month into office, serving on three House committees: Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure and House Administration.

When it comes to homeland security, the congressman believes the biggest issue the country faces is taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border. There have been a large number of migrants coming to the United States seeking asylum, or at least a better life. While D’Esposito believes everyone should have the opportunity to come to America, it still must be “done correctly.”

That means more funding for border patrol agents and the resources they need to keep the country’s borders safe.

Getting onto the Homeland Security Community meant earning a top-secret security clearance. Before leaving the NYPD in his previous life, D’Esposito was in the process of transferring to the department’s joint terrorist task force.

“In addition to my 20 or so years as a first responder, I think having someone from Long Island and New York on Homeland Security is super important,” D’Esposito said. “We need to carry that mantle of Peter King, who was the chair of Homeland Security following 9/11. And we need to make sure we are able to provide the resources that we need to our local law enforcement agencies — not only here, but throughout the country.”

D’Esposito’s responsibilities with the Committee of House Administration include overseeing management of House operations, federal elections, key congressional offices, and Capitol Complex security — which extends to supervising the U.S. Capitol Police and its management.

The former police officer expressed his excitement in the opportunity to utilize his law enforcement experience when collaborating with officers sworn to protect one of the nation’s three branches of government.

But even with all that work on his plate, D’Esposito still finds himself talking about one of his fellow freshman colleagues from a neighboring congressional district — U.S. Rep. George Santos, and the ongoing reports and investigations into his past and how he raised money for his campaign.

D’Esposito won’t back down on his calls for Santos to resign, and is prepared to provide whatever services constituents in Santos’ district might need, but not comfortable approaching the embattled congressman about.

“People voted for a George Santos that they don’t even know — they voted for the George Santos that George created,” D’Esposito said. “You call, you’re looking for help, regardless of where you live, regardless of where you’re from, what you look like or what party you’re affiliated with — we’re here to help you.”