CNN
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New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, one of the most vulnerable Republican lawmakers in the House, has reportedly given both his mistress and his fiancée’s daughter part-time jobs in his Long Island district office, potentially violating House ethics rules.

According to the New York Times, D’Esposito hired the two shortly after taking office in 2023 and paid them a combined $30,000 in taxpayer money. Records of this are publicly available. The House Code of Conduct prohibits members from hiring close family members.

The report could be a major blow to his already uncertain path to re-election. D’Esposito faces a close rematch with Democrat Laura Gillen, whom he defeated by fewer than 10,000 votes two years ago. His victory then upended the South Shore district, which is now seen by both parties as a crucial battleground in the fight for control of the House.

“My personal life has never prevented me from delivering results for New York’s 4th District, and I have maintained the highest ethical standards of personal conduct,” the congressman said in a statement to CNN. He called the story, the details of which he does not dispute, “a slimy, partisan ‘smear article.'”

D’Esposito ignored questions for several minutes on Monday evening in the Capitol complex and simply said – without evidence – that he believed the report was politically motivated. Both his fiancée and his lover confirmed the reporting in brief conversations with the New York Times.

D’Esposito, a former New York Police Department detective, also helped his fiancée and her son get municipal jobs in 2017 after being appointed to the Hempstead Town Council. Gillen previously served as supervisor in Hempstead, the nation’s largest township. She was elected in November 2017.

D’Esposito, whose family has long been closely tied to Nassau County’s prestigious Republican political machine, was elected in the same election cycle as disgraced, now-former Rep. George Santos, who flipped the neighboring 3rd Congressional District before being exposed as a notorious fabulist. Santos pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for February.

As the scandal escalated, D’Esposito, who sits in the state’s 4th Congressional District, became one of Santos’s chief critics, calling on his colleague to resign and making his home office available for voter outreach to people in Santos’ district during a press conference with local GOP leaders that he attended from the Capitol.

House Speaker Mike Johnson backed D’Esposito in comments to reporters on Tuesday.

Although Johnson said he had not yet spoken to D’Esposito and did not know the details of the allegations, the spokesman referred to D’Esposito’s statement, adding: “It’s a partisan smear piece that would surprise no one, and it’s a close election cycle in a district that is … hotly contested, but he has been a very strong advocate for his district.”

Johnson added: “I know the people in his district, and they are great advocates for him and he is great advocates for them.”

House Republican Whip Tom Emmer dodged the question about an ethics investigation by talking about this week’s important funding bill.

His fellow New Yorkers also remained silent after the report. Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro said he had spoken to D’Esposito but declined to comment further.

“I have, and I don’t comment on people’s private lives,” Molinaro said.

When CNN asked D’Esposito’s fellow Long Islander, Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, about the report, he said he was on the phone.

D’Esposito recently welcomed former President Donald Trump to his district, where the Republican presidential candidate hosted a rally at Nassau Coliseum for Long Island Republicans desperate to hold on to their 2022 gains in the New York City suburbs. New York Republicans gained four seats in that election and won another close race further north in the state in the midterms — giving Republican ranks a critical boost as the party won a narrow majority.

CNN’s Haley Talbot, Annie Grayer, Sam Fossum and Manu Raju contributed to this report.