Only one Republican represents the Big Apple on Capitol Hill: Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.

She was only sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January, after unseating first-term Democrat Max Rose.

Six months into her term, what has she been working on? What role is she playing in the delegation?

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Malliotakis was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January, after unseating first-term Democrat Max Rose

  • In her first 6 months, Malliotakis has repeatedly railed against the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border, and recently urged the White House to stand with Cuban protestors

  • According to data compiled by the website FiveThirtyEight.com, Malliotakis has voted against President Biden roughly 81% of the time

  • Legislatively, she has introduced roughly a dozen bills, including a measure tapping the brakes on congestion pricing in Manhattan, saying she is concerned it would hurt Staten Island

As a Republican, Malliotakis is a member of the minority party in a chamber where the majority pulls most of the strings. Malliotakis says it is a role she is not unfamiliar with after her time in the State Assembly.

“It’s important for New York City to have two-party representation so somebody is giving the alternative viewpoint to what someone like [Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is proposing,” she said, arguing she can serve as a check on her colleagues across the aisle, “exposing when Democrats are doing the wrong thing.”

Malliotakis says in her first six months, she has been doing just that, repeatedly railing against the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border and, as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urging the White House to stand with Cuban protesters.

“This is an opportunity, I believe, and we should be working with all freedom-loving countries from around the world to push the regime out,” she said of the situation in Cuba.

Malliotakis’s first week in Congress was one for the history books, as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol just days after she and her fellow freshmen lawmakers were first sworn in.

While she condemned the Jan. 6 attack as “un-American,” Malliotakis did ultimately vote to reject the Electoral College votes in two states, a move she stood by more than six months later.

“It wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the election, but I have to abide by my interpretation of the Constitution — and they’re in violation of it,” she said of the elections in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

According to data compiled by the website FiveThirtyEight.com, Malliotakis has voted against President Joe Biden roughly 81% of the time.

She opposed an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, voted against various gun control measures, and also opposed the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

But she has broken ranks with Republicans. For example, she joined mainly with Democrats to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Legislatively, she has introduced roughly a dozen bills, including a measure tapping the brakes on congestion pricing in Manhattan, saying she is concerned it would hurt Staten Island.

“We want an economic impact study to take place to see how it will affect commuters, small businesses in the surrounding area,” she said.

On transportation, Malliotakis suggested her district could benefit from investments in transit and infrastructure, but she withheld any commitments on the pending bipartisan proposal being worked on in the Senate, wanting to see the final details.

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