FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican facing what is expected to be a tough re-election fight this year is being lampooned by Democrats for a recent “embarrassing” exchange with a journalist in which she reinforced her claim to have contributed $40 million to the district despite voting against the legislation that provided most of the funding.
A new video released Wednesday by the Democratic National Campaign Committee (DCCC) mocks Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., for the exchange, where she couldn't remember her vote against the legislation that accounted for $24 million of the $40 . millions she claimed to have secured for the people of Florida's 27th Congressional District.
“Right now they have to give me more details, but I know that every time I have the opportunity to bring money to my constituents, I do it,” Salazar said when asked by CBS News Miami's Jim DeFede why he made the claim. on funding, but he voted against the legislation.
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Representative Maria Salazar (R-FL) speaks during a press conference on immigration in front of the United States Capitol Building on May 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The interview escalated when DeFede continued to press Salazar, and she responded that she would have to ask her staff before continuing to claim that she had contributed $40 million to the district. “Aren't you proud of me? Aren't you proud of the 40 million dollars I've brought in?” She—she asked DeFede.
Of the $40 million that Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., said she personally played a role in securing several projects in her district, including infrastructure, $24 million came as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, to which that Salazar actually opposed it along with almost all of his Republican colleagues.
The DCCC video directed at Salazar includes clips of the interview, overlaid with circus music, and claims that the congresswoman's “lies are catching up with her.” It comes as Democrats aim to wrest control of the House of Representatives from Republicans, who currently hold a slim majority of just a few seats.
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Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., had a tense exchange with Jim DeFede of CBS News Miami during an interview in January 2023. (Screenshot/CBS News Miami)
“Maria Elvira Salazar thinks she can continue to take credit from South Miami voters for the federal funding she voted against. Too bad for her, the DCCC has the receipts, the evidence, the schedule and the screenshots, and we are presenting the facts directly to voters,” the DCCC spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
When contacted for comment, Salazar's campaign pointed Fox News Digital to an op-ed she wrote in the Miami Herald after the exchange. In it, Salazar explained that she fought to have funding included in the bill while it was being drafted, but that it then became a “bloated” bill loaded with “bad policies” that she was unwilling to support. vote.
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“Let me be clear: I will never apologize for working to achieve victories for the district voters have entrusted me to represent. I will always vote conscientiously and in the best interest of our community and our country,” she wrote.
Election analysts rate the race for Florida's 27th Congressional District as “solid” or “likely” Republican.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital Election Center.
