Road to the White House: What impact could Long Island's representatives have on Congress? 

A new chapter in American politics unfolds as 119th Congress convenes

Judge sets Trump's sentencing in hush money case for Jan. 10, but signals no jail time

Speaker battle, tri-state priorities highlight start of 119th Congress

Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

Bill Clinton is out of the hospital after being treated for the flu

longisland

News 12 Staff

LIBarabbi128_2025-01-02-08-11-47

It's said to be a very busy weekend in our nation's capital. New members of Congress will be sworn in tomorrow, including those right here from Long Island, and our Rich Bahrabi will be there for it all. In fact, he's on his way to Washington DC right now, breaking down everything that we can expect. Good morning, Rich. Good morning, Jen. We are on the road to DC. We're on I-95, making good time this morning, and there's a lot of work to be done, particularly for this 119th Congress that's about to be sworn in. And of course, there are 4 Long Island members of the House of Representatives that will be sworn in as well. Andrew Garburio and Nick Lalota, they are the two Republicans. They are both from Suffolk County and Garburio now, the elder statesman. Of this group, he and Lalota are potentially in a position to have some real influence over what takes place in this House of Representatives with the Republicans having such a slim House majority. They both back House Speaker Mike Johnson to continue in that role as Speaker, as we have been talking about here in the past couple of weeks. Johnson could be in for a fight, although he does have the endorsement of President. Trump. As for the two Democrats who are representing Long Island, we have Tom Suozzi, of course, who won two elections in the last calendar year. He representing the 3rd district, and then Laurie Gillan is the 4th district congresswoman-elect. She'll be sworn in tomorrow. She defeated Anthony D Esposito, the freshman Republican in a district that had traditionally gone Democrat. We're going to talk to all 4 members of Congress tomorrow, Jen. So Rich, how do you think the Long Island delegation will work with President-elect Donald Trump now? They all seem open to it, Jen. I mean, the Republicans obviously Lalota and Garbo, you know, they feel emboldened by the fact that not only did Donald Trump win the presidency, but he won in Nassau and Suffolk County as well. So, uh, they have some influence. Trump, of course, a native New Yorker. He came to Nassau Coliseum to rally. He has a lot of connections to the island and Gino and Lalo. are hoping to be able to capitalize on that and work with this White House. Tom Swazi, he put out an op ed in The New York Times yesterday saying there needs to be a new approach in dealing with Donald Trump, working with him. Swazi says he'll work with this president, with anyone to get common sense things done. And then Laura Gillan, again, she is the newcomer who's going to find her way in Washington, but she too is taking a pragmatic stance here at the top, saying she too will work with anybody if it benefits Long Islanders and folks in the 4th congressional district. So we'll talk more to them about all of this as the 119th Congress gets set to be sworn in tomorrow. Sure, Rich, we know a lot more to come, so of course we'll check back in with you when you get to DC. Thank you.

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LIBarabbi712_2025-01-02-07-35-20

Busy weekend in our capital's nation. new members of Congress will be sworn in tomorrow, including those from our island, and our Rich Bahrabi will be there for it all. In fact, he's on his way right now to Washington DC, breaking down everything we could expect. Good morning, Rich. Good morning, Jen. We are on the road, as you can see, we are in New Jersey, approaching the Delaware line right now, making good time actually. Good to get going early, good to be there for the start of 119th Congress which will be sworn in tomorrow. We're keeping a close eye on our members of Congress here on Long Island, of course, the two Republicans, Andrew Garburino and Nick Lolota, they're going to be in the majority. Garberino, the elder statesman of this group at this point, they'll have the most influence, at least figure two. Uh, when it comes to getting things done, whether it be salt, which is of course a key priority this year, whether it be uh the immigration crisis, national security funding for those who are in and around Ground zero during 9/11 and their healthcare, um, so these two Republicans will be watching closely, we'll be speaking with both of them. As well as the two Democrats, here's Tom Swazi, who has struck a moderate tone, continues to be someone who says he will work across, and Laura Gillen, she's the newcomer. She's going to be sworn in here representing the 4th congressional district, and we will be talking with her as well as she gets the keys to her new office tomorrow, Jen. And Rich, how do you think the Long Island delegation will work with President-elect Donald Trump? Yeah, it's gonna be very interesting. Uh, Nick Polota and Andrew Garrino both endorsed Trump during the campaign. Uh, again, Donald Trump is aware of Long Island, is aware of New York State. He rallied at Nassau Coliseum, so you figure that that's got to play well. And then you have someone like Lee Zeldin, who, of course, the former congressman in the first district, he figures to be Trump's EPA administrator. So Long Island is represented in the White House, in the cabinet, and the question will be how much influence can he. Two Republicans have with Trump. As for Swazi and Gillan, Swazi said he'll work with Trump when it makes sense for his constituents, for Long Islanders. So we'll be watching that closely as well as the winds of change blow through Washington. Oh yeah, for sure, Rich, a lot to come, so of course we'll check back in with you when you get to Washington DC. Thank you.

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LIBarabbi12_2025-01-02-06-31-29

busy weekend in our capitals nation. new members of Congress will be sworn in tomorrow, including those right here on Long Island. Now Rich Barrabe will be there for it all. In fact, this morning he's on the phone with us right now on his way to Washington DC, breaking down everything we can expect. Good morning, Rich. Good morning, Jen. We are actually in Staten Island right now. In about 45 minutes, we've gone from Beth Page to Staten Island. I didn't think it was possible, but leaving early has its benefits, and so here we are. We're on the road to DC and we're gonna be there as Congress is sworn in. Of course, these 4 Long Islanders representing Nassau and Suffolk in Congress, stakes are high for them. The two Republicans, Andrew Garberino and Nick Malota, representing mostly Suffolk County. Gino is now the elder statesman of this group, and we're gonna see how those two operate in a slim majority representing the interests of Long Islanders. Their voices are going to be heard. They do support. The hopeful speaker, Mike Johnson, the speaker in the last Congress, who is vying to resume his position in that role, but it is not a foregone conclusion. Donald Trump has endorsed Mike Johnson, but at the same time, uh, there's already been at least one Republican who has said he will not support Mike Johnson. They have such a slim majority. Johnson. Not lose the support of more than a handful of Republicans, or we could see a redo of what happened two years ago when Kevin McCarthy had to go through several votes before finally becoming Speaker only to eventually be ousted. So we're watching that. We're also watching the two Democrats from Long Island, Laura Gillan and Tom Swazzy, Swazi, uh, veteran, middle ground. Says he's gonna work with anyone who can find common sense solutions. Laura Gillan, she's the newcomer. She is going to be sworn in tomorrow and she too says she will work across the aisle when it makes sense for folks in her district. We are going to speak with all four of these members of Congress over the next couple of days, and we'll be there when they are sworn in. OK, lots to break down there, Rich. Of course, we'll check back in a little bit when you get to Washington DC. Thank you.

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News 12’s Rich Barrabi is in Washington D.C. to break down everything we can expect.

Power & Politics: New members of Congress to be sworn in Friday

News 12’s Rich Barrabi is in Washington D.C. to break down everything we can expect.

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