What job does Anthony D'Esposito really want?

Daily Point

Ex-CD4 rep reaches a twisty fork in the road

Now that former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito has been sworn in as inspector general of the U.S. Labor Department, the question of his government career track suddenly becomes hazier.

Last Tuesday, the department announced that he’d officially taken over the job following his Senate confirmation last month. In a statement he vowed that under his leadership the IG "will expand and aggressively pursue investigations focused on dismantling human and child trafficking networks, rooting out unemployment insurance and pandemic-era fraud, hunting organized fraud rings, and holding accountable those who undercut honest businesses and exploit vulnerable workers."

That sounds like a very full plate, especially for someone who, depending on his plans, may leave the new job within weeks or months. Nassau Republican insiders still consider D’Esposito the likely GOP candidate to run for the 4th Congressional District seat he held for one term after defeating Laura Gillen, who then unseated D’Esposito in 2024.

It’s widely agreed that he cannot legally run for Congress while serving in the Trump administration. Petition signatures for a House nomination are due to be filed April 6, according to the state Board of Elections website. The fact that he pursued, accepted and started the IG’s job while not a single other name has emerged from the GOP for the House seat is unusual. During his confirmation hearing, D’Esposito sidestepped the issue when questioned.

"Having discussions about the future are questions that I can’t answer," the Island Park Republican told Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Democrats backing Gillen for reelection told The Point they have been planning for a third straight contest against D’Esposito. Nobody on the Republican side familiar with D’Esposito offered an explanation to The Point of why he’d give up a secured post in a presidential administration that has three years to go on its term, for a less-than-sure shot to regain the House seat.

From a Long Island electoral perspective, the Island Park Republican instantly landed in a potentially awkward situation, at least according to Gillen. On Monday afternoon, Politico reported that Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff were placed on leave amid accusations they devised and scheduled official out-of-town events to facilitate her personal travel plans. Her conduct on those out-of-town trips was also called into question in media reports prompted by complaints from within the department. Chavez-DeRemer is claimed to have had an inappropriate affair with a subordinate.

Gillen poked at the matter on her ‘X’ account — and returned to what was a successful campaign message two years ago. In a statement to The Point on Monday, she said: "It is deeply ironic and troubling that D’Esposito is tasked with investigating workplace ethics violations following his own workplace corruption scandal. His history of paying his mistress with tax-payer dollars disqualified him from his job in Congress and it disqualifies him in his current role."

That’s an allusion to a patronage issue that surfaced during the 2024 race. He allegedly was having an affair with a woman he paid $2,000 a month to work part time in his Garden City office, and as reported at the time, also hired his longtime fiancée’s daughter to work in his 4th District office for about $3,800 a month. He denied any ethical violations in the hirings.

Of the allegations inside the Labor Department, D’Esposito’s office said in a statement: "It is the policy of the DOL OIG to neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of any OIG investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website." But before any findings, officials of the White House and the labor agency indignantly called all the anonymous allegations false.

"Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team, and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda," said White House spokesman Taylor Rogers. Will that jibe with the eventual outcome of the inspector general’s investigation? Nobody can say at this point.

Chavez-DeRemer, who’s from Oregon, also won a congressional seat in 2022 and lost after one term in 2024, before Trump hired her for the secretary’s job.

For now, Nassau County residents must wait some more to see if D’Esposito, a protégé of Nassau Republican chairman Joe Cairo, will ditch the Labor Department job just to take on Gillen once again. 

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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