When former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito walked into Central Perk, a kosher restaurant in the Five Towns where we met for our interview, he was greeted as the regular customer that he is. Smiles, hellos and his usual order.
D’Esposito, who narrowly lost his House reelection bid this past November in the Long Island race, was recently nominated by President Trump to serve as the next Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor. But the NYPD detective turned politician recognizes the value of maintaining relationships. That means continuing to patronize kosher establishments on Central Avenue and preserving connections with communities that supported him and helped turn Long Island from blue to red.
“If you wind back ten years ago,” the Republican D’Esposito says, “the Five Towns represented similarly to many other Jewish communities on Long Island which leaned left. You never saw Republicans. Then you come to the Five Towns. A lot has to do with the fact that Orthodox are conservative in nature. But it also comes down to relationships and establishing those relationships with people like me. I spend a lot of time here. People ask me where I’m going for coffee and I say I’m going to Central Avenue. People want to see you, not just because it’s an election year. They want to know that you’re invested in this community. I do that now even out of office.”
I mention a recent poll showing enormous support for Trump from Orthodox Jews as opposed to non-Orthodox or unaffiliated Jews. D’Esposito points to his own data as confirmation. “If I got the numbers that I got from the Jewish communities in the Five Towns I would have won by 40 points. I got 93% of the vote here.”
As we sit at a table, more patrons come by to say hello. D’Esposito basks in the camaraderie. “I’m a Roman Catholic kid from Island Park,” he says. “But I’ve spent so much time in yeshivas and shuls. The Rabbis joke with me on a Sunday, ‘Be careful when you leave the shul that you don’t walk into your Mass with a kippah on.’”
D’Esposito recognizes that the Jewish vote is not monolithic. The challenge remains among non-Orthodox communities, such as the Hamptons, where Jewish populations “are as blue as you’re going to get”. He feels that many political representatives on the right “just write them off”. However, he is optimistic about making inroads through outreach. Something his personality as a people person is suited for.
“Take South Merrick,” D’Esposito explains. “We’ve been able to break into that community, thankfully, because of establishing relationships with the rabbis. It’s a very Jewish but secular community and the southern tier was very blue. We’ve changed that to purplish by establishing relationships and because of the expansion of Chabad.”
Does the same hold true for other communities, such as Blacks and Hispanics, who came out in unanticipated numbers to vote for Trump? Are we subject to wanting similar things, like public safety? “Yes,” D’Esposito affirms. “These communities were taken for granted. I think that anywhere in this country people want safe streets. They want cops that respect the community. I worked in one of the most violent places in the country. There are good people there who want safer streets. They don’t want to go to the bodega on the corner to get a gallon of milk and worry about getting clipped by a bullet.”
The retired cop, who moved up the ranks quickly and was promoted to detective within three years, says that criminal justice reform and cashless bail only hurt these communities. And they are wizening up. “People are looking at all these Democratic policies and saying, ‘How are they benefitting me?’”
D’Esposito’s earlier career in law and order puts him at a unique vantage point in politics, and it’s a background he hopes will serve him well if confirmed as Inspector General at the DOL. He also views his initial choice of profession as the “best decision I ever made in my life.”
I ask D’Esposito what motivated him to join the police force. “I always liked the police force,” he replies. “I went to an all-boys Catholic high school, then Hofstra University. I took the LSAT but realized that I really didn’t want to sit in school another three years. I got a call from the police department because I had taken a test a couple years before and thought I would give it a try.”
According to D’Esposito, “I think that we are all blessed to be very good or exceptional at only a few things. For some people it’s parenting or their commitment to religion or being doctors or lawyers. Mine was being an investigator.”
It seems a short step from investigator to inspector. And D’Esposito feels an affinity with the working class that has shifted from Democrats to Republicans and forms the backbone of MAGA support for President Trump.
“President Trump sees the movement in labor as something historic. Some of the biggest labor unions in the country have for decades been supporting Democrats. In this past election, there were unions that decided to not endorse, which in political circles signaled a tacit support of Trump. Then you had groups like the Teamsters, which also didn’t endorse, but whose internal poll showed almost 80% of members supported Trump. The International Association of Firefighters, which historically supported Democratic candidates, realized that it’s time to support the person who will look to safety and better wages.”
D’Esposito sees this change reflected in President Trump’s choice of Labor Secretary, who he hopes will be his next boss. “Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is pro-labor. Like me, she was criticized by some of our colleagues in the House, especially Republicans, for being too pro-labor and supporting the labor movement, union rights to organize, fairest wages and the best working conditions. I see an opportunity to actually work with labor and not just ignore them. Trump’s choice of labor secretary sends a clear message to organized labor across the country that he means what he said during the campaign and that’s that he wants to enter the golden age of the American worker.”
President Trump was criticized by those on the left for firing Inspectors General across almost all federal agencies. Recently, a judge ruled that was a decision a president is entitled to make. And D’Esposito hopes that “this is a real opportunity to create a new face for the Inspector General’s office.” That includes his face at the Department of Labor.
He looks forward to carving out a role he calls proactive. “People say, ‘How is that going to happen? It’s supposed to be apolitical. You’re not supposed to be working for President Trump. You’re supposed to be working for the American people.’ I agree. I intend to work for the American people.”
If President Trump’s agenda is working for the people, I ask, isn’t that one and the same? “Yes. That’s why the American people sent President Trump to the White House. And I think that my job as Inspector General will be to make sure that we meet that agenda by making sure that people aren’t taking advantage and committing crimes that are going to hinder the ability and needs of the American worker.”
When I ask D’Esposito if he is concerned about being targeted the same way that Elon Musk was for slashing waste and abuse in the department, D’Esposito is undaunted. “Absolutely. I anticipate most of the confirmation hearings will probably be about President Trump’s decision to fire the Inspectors General. Secondly, the work that Elon Musk and DOGE have been doing. I think that the Democrats are using that as a catalyst because there’s not much else for them to fight about. President Trump is securing the border, putting America first, trying to negotiate diplomacy and foreign policy. Could it move quicker? Yes. But I think that as they say in order to reroute a battleship it doesn’t happen by a quick turn.”
Part of the Trump agenda is confronting woke ideology head-on and rooting it out of American society. I question D’Esposito about these progressive policies. Are on they on the wane? Have they reached a peak and are ebbing out?
D’Esposito thinks they may have reached a peak but are not ebbing out yet. “I think they’re still a threat from the likes of AOC and Bernie Sanders, who are traveling the country trying to ignite that progressive woke, far-left base. So many Americans have watched and said, ‘I’m sick of this.’ But the Democratic Party realizes that that’s their future, and many are trying to hold on to it. They will reignite it and that’s what AOC is doing right now. Think about it – in three months she’s raised over 9 million dollars.”
Woke policies have worked against the Jewish community. These include DEI guidelines in schools and the workplace, which work against white males. And the current climate of antisemitism, squarely in the domain of progressive policies, continues to threaten. Since discrimination can endanger both employee and employer, what would an Inspector General D’Esposito do to combat this, particularly if Orthodox Jewish schools are victimized?
“Discrimination against schools will probably go to the Inspector General of the Education Department,” D’Esposito explains. But he is dedicated to growing the relationship with partners on a local level and has committed to visit every regional office in the country “within the first 30-45 days of being sworn in to understand the issues.”
I cite a recent ADL study titled, “Jewish and Israeli Americans Face Discrimination in the Job Market,” which demonstrates serious anti-Jewish discrimination in the hiring process. D’Esposito responded that the problem is more of a policy related issue, which would not fall under his domain. However, he is certain such discrimination will not be tolerated by the Trump administration.
“I think there’s going to be, without going into too much detail, a rollout of many new policies that are spearheaded by this administration that will address issues like that,” D’Esposito says. “I would argue that there has probably not been a better friend to the Jewish and Israel relationship than President Trump. These issues are real. When it falls into the jurisdiction of the Inspector General, it is one that we will take very seriously.
“For far too long we have let certain places, like college campuses or universities or coffee shops throughout major cities, become petri dishes of hate. Instead of addressing it, like we would address it if it were African American or Hispanic, we’ve allowed it to fester. I sometimes think to myself why it took October 7 for us to be dealing with most of this stuff that we’re dealing with now. October 7 expanded it and gave a pat on the back to those hate-filled lunatics to run around on the streets, but there was antisemitism going on way before.”
D’Esposito is passionate about the topic, not only regarding actual antisemitic perpetrators, but those in place of power who have permitted it. “What it comes down it is holding them accountable. That’s what we’re doing, and we have to hold them accountable in every aspect. People will say antisemitism is not political. Perhaps not, but what is political is the people making policy, implementing laws, and putting their voting card in the machine to put legislation on the books. Right now, the people supporting the Israel-US relationship are from the Republican Party, for the most part. There are some great Democratic advocates against antisemitism like Ritchie Torres and Josh Gottheimer, my dearest friends, but they are few and far between. That’s a fact.”
D’Esposito, who stresses the importance of loyalty, thinks that there should be a “litmus test” for politicians when it comes to Israel and the Jewish community. “Just because you decide one year to walk in the Israeli Day Parade on Fifth Avenue doesn’t make you a supporter of Israel. It doesn’t mean you’re fighting antisemitism. If you have yet to vote to support funding for the Iron Dome or vote for a resolution that says ‘from the river to the sea’ is antisemitic or sign on to a letter to take away funding from antisemitic institutions, you haven’t earned that. I’ve earned that.
“Being silent is more complicit than standing in a college campus and waving around a Hamas flag. The silence of so many elected officials is disgusting. You’re either all in or you’re not. You cannot play the fence or try to pander. You cannot pull the Chuck Schumer, who is forever claiming that he’s the “shomer’. He’s not. Not when he stands up before the U.S. Senate and undermines the State of Israel, calls for the removal of Bibi Netanyahu, all while holding up the Antisemitism Awareness Act.”
D’Esposito has been getting bomb threats at his office because of his support for Israel, but he has no plans to back down. “I will continue to fight for Israel. It’s what I believe in. The darkness of October 7 has given us a real opportunity to start shining a light on the cockroaches in the corner, take their masks off and say these are antisemitic lunatics.”
President Trump’s trip to the Middle East, without a stop in Israel, has ignited talk about how Israel might be sidelined. I wonder whether D’Esposito is concerned about rumblings of a fall-out between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is not. “President Trump’s trip to the Middle East proves what the fake news won’t admit – there is no rift with Netanyahu, only results. Peace through strength, partnership through power.”
When I bring up the topic of Iran, D’Esposito shows he’s a hard-liner as well. He is not concerned about the isolationists in the Republican Party, who are pushing for a deal, because “I don’t think we are going to reach a deal.”
Is that because there’s no one trustworthy on the Iranian side? “Yes, that’s what I believe. Even when Ambassador Friedman signed the Abraham Accords and we were able to build peace throughout the region, the Achilles heel was always Iran. It’s still Iran. I don’t think there’s any world leader that’s going to grow trust with the leadership in Iran right now. The only way that there’s a deal is with new leadership.”
He explains that the rationale behind the isolationists boils down to money. “I think that where you probably lose some people is when you say you’re going to develop Gaza. That probably didn’t land too well with a lot of people. I think their biggest concern is how we’re going to pay for it. That’s their question for everything. ‘You want to settle a confrontation between Iran and Israel, no problem. How are you paying for it?’”
In contrast, D’Esposito applies his same hawkish approach to negotiating with Hamas. While recognizing that “it’s easier for me to say than parents or family members of hostages”, D’Esposito maintains that it’s futile trying to negotiate with terrorists. “I think the tunnels need to be a parking lot and we need to start over. There are casualties of war. And this is a war.”
I mention the high casualty count among the IDF too. D’Esposito agrees that Israel is losing more Israeli soldiers in battle, when “we don’t even know if the hostages are alive or if their bodies are there. We’re never going to trust Hamas. What are we waiting for? For them to strike again and take more hostages?”
This no-nonsense approach is what categorizes the kid from Island Park, who is now poised to assist in heading one of the biggest departments in the U.S. government.
As we get ready to leave, a woman comes over and introduces herself. “I’m not in your district,” she says. “But I very strongly supported you. You’re great.”
“Thank you, we’ll keep fighting,” D’Esposito responds. “I’ll be back.”
