Trump blasts Suozzi as Republicans target LI House district

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has injected himself into what is likely to be a key Long Island congressional race, blasting incumbent Tom Suozzi and coming out for a newly named Republican challenger.

Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night that Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) should be banished from Congress for boosting his stock portfolio "using insider information that only a congressman would have."

Offering no proof for the allegation, Trump nonetheless railed, "Frankly, he should be banned from Congress, not running for it!"

Trump’s swipe at Suozzi came as part of a lengthier endorsement of former GOP Assemb. Mike LiPetri in his bid for a rematch after a close but failed 2024 race to unseat Suozzi in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

Suozzi spokeswoman Kim Devlin did not comment on Trump’s discussion of the congressman’s stock portfolio. But Devlin said the overall attack — which included criticisms of Suozzi's stances on immigration and the Second Amendment to calling him "a Radical Left Lunatic" — was "laughable" and "a cookie-cutter endorsement full of lies."

But while Devlin described it as similar to a second plug Trump posted Wednesday night for a Republican in another New York State congressional race, that endorsement did not have the personal overtones that Trump’s remarks against Suozzi carried.

High-profile district

Suozzi’s district, which includes parts of Nassau, Queens and Suffolk counties, is seen by nonpartisan political handicappers as among the pivotal battlegrounds that this fall will decide which party controls the U.S. House starting in 2027. The handicappers said Thursday they weren’t particularly surprised that Trump could get so personal or vicious regarding Suozzi.

The last two years of Trump’s tenure in the White House could be significantly weakened if Democrats can keep seats such as Suozzi’s and win a handful of others, giving them a majority. Not only would the president's legislative agenda face roadblocks in Congress, but he could also face repeated House committee investigations or even, Trump predicts, impeachment efforts.

LiPetri, a Farmingdale lawyer, lost in 2024 to Suozzi 51.7% to 48.1%, while Trump carried the district. Political handicappers have the district so far leaning Suozzi’s way again this fall.

"I think the tone of the endorsement is pretty typical for Trump. But obviously this race is particularly top of mind for him because Republicans view it as one of their best pickup opportunities in the country," said Erin Covey, a House elections expert at the nonpartisan handicapper The Cook Political Report.

Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor of the nonpartisan Inside Elections, agreed that Republicans and Trump certainly are intent on flipping Suozzi’s district. But he said that alone, for him, does not provide a solid enough reason "as to why Trump went so hard on Suozzi in his endorsement of LiPetri."

"My best guess is that Trump is still a Queens guy at heart and so he feels a particular attachment to races like this one — his childhood home of Jamaica Estates is right outside the 3rd — and he may have a history with Suozzi that goes back long before he got into politics," Rubashkin offered. "But those are just guesses."

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran New York Democratic political consultant, suggested the attack was an indication that Trump is growing worried.

"Frustration breeds anger. In 2026 midterms, Republican possible wins might now — as a result of ICE and unflinching consumer costs — become impossible," Sheinkopf said. "They thought Suozzi would fall easy. Not now. And a frustrated Trump is an angry, vicious Trump."

Growing portfolio

In his posting about Suozzi, Trump referenced a New York Post story last month that reported, "Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi beats Pelosi’s stock portfolio performance with 35% return."

The story said Suozzi — a member of the House's tax code-writing Ways and Means Committee — saw a $2.5 million gain in the value of his stock holdings during 2025, ending the year with portfolio worth $9.5 million.

The information was attributed to Quiver Quantitative, which tracks Congress members’ stock trades. It reported that Suozzi’s 35% gain easily outpaced every major index, including the Dow’s 14% return, the S&P 500's 17% and the Nasdaq's 21%.

The comparison to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) comes as she and her millionaire husband, Paul Pelosi, have long been posterized as examples of lawmakers and their families seeing stock profits soar during their time in Congress.

Quiver Quantitative has ranked Suozzi 72nd in terms of wealth in the 435-seat House. He has been the focus of criticism and even House Ethics Committee scrutiny for failing to disclose or report stock trades within the 45 days required in the House.

One investigation ultimately concluded in 2022 that his violations of those requirements then were not "knowing or willful." More recent complaints center around Suozzi's failure to disclose his purchase in 2024 of U.S. Treasury bills on time, but experts on the congressional rules interviewed by Newsday differed about whether those types of transactions, as opposed to those concerning stocks, fall under the same disclosure deadlines.

LiPetri announced his candidacy on Tuesday, a day before Trump’s endorsement. "We’re just getting started and I couldn’t be more excited about the future of America," LiPetri said in a statement after Wednesday’s Trump posting.

Another Republican, attorney Gregory Hach, of Oyster Bay, is also seeking the party’s nomination.

Asked about Trump’s endorsement of LiPetri, Hach said he was not surprised. "The party leaders are circling their wagons," he said, "because my campaign is touching a nerve."