New York Congressman Tom Suozzi has now come full circle. 

After giving up his seat to run for governor, the Democrat is now back on Capitol Hill, taking over the office of the man who briefly replaced him —scandal-scarred Republican George Santos.

Taking the oath Wednesday night, Suozzi told his colleagues he had a message to share from voters: “Wake up.”

“The people are sick and tired of the finger pointing and the petty partisan bickering. They want us to work together,” he continued.

The House has not done much since he left 14 months ago. It is currently on track to be one of the least productive in decades. 

In an interview Thursday morning with NY1, Suozzi said he was “surprised” by how “discouraged” his colleagues are. He said some asked him questions like: “What are you doing? Why are you coming back? What are you, crazy? What are you thinking?”

“We see so many people leaving Congress. And I'm really concerned,” he said. 

Suozzi has been assigned to the Homeland Security Committee, which oversees immigration-related matters. During the campaign, he put the border at the center of his message, attempting to flip the script on Republicans who have seized on the crisis there. 

Whether Congress will take any action on immigration this year, though, is unclear. In recent weeks, a bipartisan border deal in the Senate that was crafted over a series of months fell apart almost immediately after former President Donald Trump came out against it. 

Asked about whether he thinks action on border policy is possible this Congress, Suozzi said “politically, it has to get done.”

“I really believe in politics and I believe in public service, and we all know, this is what the people want,” he said.

Then there is the roughly six-year-old limit on SALT — the federal deduction on state and local tax deductions. It is one of Suozzi’s long term priorities.

"It won't get done this year. But maybe we can get it done next year when it expires,” he said. “But we have to start building that coalition now.”

After Suozzi’s special election victory, much was made about what it signals for November. 

Suozzi’s main takeaway was a bit more straightforward: listen to voters.

“If the people are saying that they're concerned about the border crisis, and then you say, ‘Well, I don't want to talk about that,’ you're not going to win,” he said. “You have to listen to what the people are talking about, and try to address their concerns. That can be replicated all over the country.”

Regarding presidential politics, Suozzi said he believes it was “absolutely” a great idea for President Joe Biden to visit the southern border Thursday, and that he hopes the president talks about the border again in his State of the Union address next Thursday night. 

In other words, Suozzi wants the president to take the crisis head-on ahead of November, much like he did in New York’s 3rd district. 

As Suozzi took his oath Wednesday, the woman he defeated earlier this month, Mazi Pilip, posted on social media that she made a “mistake” by not seeking Trump’s endorsement during the special election. 

Asked about this post, Suozzi said he “can't give any analysis on what she should have done or shouldn't have done.” 

But, he said, “she made a big mistake by not coming out and speaking to the people, and not just being straightforward about where she stood on issues, and [how] she was going to solve them.”