Rep. Laura Gillen was one of 11 Democrats who missed a crucial party-line vote to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — and bizarrely blamed a DC-metro traffic jam.
Gillen, who said she missed Tuesday night’s vote because she was stuck behind a police escort blocking the Capitol, was blasted by her constituents for the awful alibi just a week after reelecting her to the House.
“What a bogus excuse,” one visibly upset Hofstra student, who only identified as Alex, told The Post.
Other lefty constituents of Gillen’s felt the same, and said they felt duped by whom they now see as just another politician who knew how to talk the talk but didn’t show up when it was time to walk the walk.
“I’m just annoyed — I can see the bulls—t already [coming with the next Congress] — I can’t believe I voted for her,” said Anthony Simpson, who was among a trove of residents she represents who told The Post they found her excuse to be utterly unacceptable.
“This vote should’ve been a much bigger priority — it angers me because it feels like she’s disregarding the majority of society,” referencing Election Day’s blue tsunami last week.
Some, however, expressed their disappointment but tried to remain hopeful that her absence was just a one-time scheduling blunder and that the Democrats will get their act together come January.
“I want to be hopeful,” said one gender studies professor who asked not to have her name shared.
“But when you think about politicians and their priorities and donors, I mean, I wouldn’t think that they are gonna be so flexible and free in terms of taking actions, but I still want to believe,” she said.
Lawmakers have known about the vote since Monday and the 415 other members of Congress had no issue arriving, including upstate Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, who posted on X that he checked himself out of the hospital Tuesday to ensure he was present for the vote, just one day after having back surgery.
Gillen missed the vote, which was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. that evening, as she was reportedly on her way back from a new member reception held by the Elect Democratic Women PAC, which was supposed to run from 4:30-6:30 p.m., according to Axios and a flyer of the event.
That group’s offshoot, the EDW Action Fund, has served as a major pass-through for funds from United Democracy Project, a super PAC formed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which Gillen has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from.
A spokesperson for Gillen — who reps the 4th District, in Nassau County — declined to confirm whether the congresswoman attended the reception prior to the vote. Her office also blamed House Republicans for ending the vote minutes before she arrived despite being late.
“Well, traffic can be a bitch,” one Hofstra professor said jokingly, being one of the only constituents who spoke to The Post to give grace to the congresswoman.
