Rep. Laura Gillen was among 11 Democrats who missed a closely watched party-line vote to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — and attributed her absence to a traffic jam in the Washington, D.C., area.
Gillen said she missed Tuesday night’s vote after becoming stuck behind a police escort near the Capitol. Her explanation drew criticism from constituents just one week after she was reelected to the House.
“What a bogus excuse,” said one visibly frustrated Hofstra student, who identified himself only as Alex, in comments to The Post.
Other Democratic constituents of Gillen’s voiced similar concerns, saying they felt misled by a politician they believed had campaigned effectively but failed to show up when it mattered.
“I’m just annoyed — I can see the bulls—t already [coming with the next Congress] — I can’t believe I voted for her,” said Anthony Simpson, one of several residents who told The Post that they considered her explanation unacceptable.
“This vote should’ve been a much bigger priority — it angers me because it feels like she’s disregarding the majority of society,” Simpson said, referring to the blue wave on Election Day the previous week.
Some constituents said they were disappointed but remained hopeful that Gillen’s absence was an isolated scheduling mistake and that Democrats would be better organized when the new Congress begins in January.
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“I want to be hopeful,” said a gender studies professor who asked not to be identified.
“But when you think about politicians and their priorities and donors, I mean, I wouldn’t think that they are gonna be so flexible and free in terms of taking actions, but I still want to believe,” she said.
Members of Congress had known about the vote since Monday, and the other 415 lawmakers had no apparent difficulty making it to the chamber. That included upstate Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, who said on X that he left the hospital Tuesday to attend the vote, just one day after undergoing back surgery.
Gillen missed the vote, scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while reportedly returning from a new-member reception hosted by the Elect Democratic Women PAC. According to Axios and an event flyer, the reception was scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The group’s affiliate, the EDW Action Fund, has acted as a major conduit for money from United Democracy Project, a super PAC established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Gillen has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization.
A spokesperson for Gillen, who represents Nassau County’s 4th District, declined to say whether the congresswoman attended the reception before the vote. Her office also faulted House Republicans, saying they ended the vote minutes before Gillen arrived even though she was late.
“Well, traffic can be a bitch,” one Hofstra professor said jokingly, making him one of the few constituents who spoke with The Post in Gillen’s defense.
