New York City’s only Republican member of Congress, Nicole Malliotakis of Brooklyn/Staten Island, is a failure when it comes to upholding American democratic values, according to the Republican Accountability Project (RAP).
The organization, formed by Never Trump Republicans who aim to move the party away from the former president and his legacy, released on Tuesday its “GOP Democracy Report Card,” grading each sitting Republican Congress member and senator on four criteria in their response to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Malliotakis, who never disputed her victory over former Democratic Congressman Max Rose last November, earned an F grade for siding with Trump-supporting Republicans on Jan. 6-7 in objecting to the electoral votes of swing states. The vote came hours after a mob of Trump supporters, white supremacists and militia members attacked the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented assault aimed at interrupting the Congressional certification of the presidential election results.
In its assessment, the RAP declared that Malliotakis helped advance the Trumpian big lie about the 2020 election — one that continues to erode the democratic process that has kept this republic functioning for nearly 245 years.
“Rep. Malliotakis has every reason to know that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud — certainly not enough to change the outcome of the election,” according to the RAP assessment. “By suggesting otherwise, she perpetuated a lie designed to undermine faith in our electoral system and our government.”
Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died in the Jan. 6 attack. It sparked national alarm and outrage in the final days of the Trump administration. Military members wound up occupying Washington, DC to ensure the peaceful transition of power to the Biden administration on Jan. 20.
The electoral objections and Capitol attack came after the former president and his allies filed baseless lawsuits and made numerous false statements questioning the validity of the election results.
The RAP report card also gave Malliotakis an F for making statements in support of such rhetoric. On Jan. 5, a day before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the freshman lawmaker told the Staten Island Advance that she would object to “some” electoral votes during the joint Congressional session to certify the election results.
Malliotakis also earned an F for failing to support the second impeachment of President Trump, a week after the Capitol attack, for “incitement of insurrection.” Ten Republicans sided with Democrats to approve the impeachment article, but the Senate fell 10 votes short of convicting Trump in the post-presidency impeachment trial that followed weeks later.
The lawmaker was not given a grade for the fourth item on the RAP report card: the amicus brief in support of Texas’ lawsuit filed in December 2020 which called on the Supreme Court to dismiss Pennsylvania’s election results.
More than 100 House Republicans signed on to the amicus brief, but Malliotakis was not one of them, as she had yet to take office at that point. The court refused to hear the case.
Nationally, just 16 Republicans earned an A grade from the RAP for an “excellent” defense of American democracy and rejecting all efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
By contrast, Malliotakis was one of 135 Republican Congress members and senators rated “very poor” in upholding constitutional values — putting the Brooklyn/Staten Island lawmaker in the company of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; allegedly disavowed QAnon supporter Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene; Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who helped lead the electoral vote challenges; and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who volunteered to argue the Texas v. Pennsylvania case before the Supreme Court.
amNewYork Metro reached out to Malliotakis for comment, and is awaiting a response.
