His latest dustup came in September with U.S. “I would say I was more straight-forward,” he said, rebuking the wording in a Tribune story describing his comments as “less-than-diplomatic.” Quiet voices don’t often get heard in Congress, especially not now. To him, each statement has been completely warranted. In September, he called a Republican colleague “a racist Christian pretender who led the effort to starve America’s poor.” Two months earlier, he called for the firing of the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, saying the organization was in “complete chaos.” Since then, he has made news for firing verbal bullets toward both sides of the aisle. As much of Washington has come to realize since, Vela knows how to make a scene. At the time, Vela was known as a mild-mannered, perhaps even centrist, representative. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat, when Donald Trump was still running for president. Only one, however, has told him to “take your border wall and shove it up your ass.” WASHINGTON - Many members of Congress disagree with the president’s approach to border security. Filemon Vela is willing to tussle with colleagues from both parties” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Learn more at .“ “I wasn’t raised to be silent”: U.S. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Vela was best known in his time for firing off a missive at then-candidate Donald Trump, telling him to “take your border wall and shove it up your ass.” He was also an early support of Biden’s campaign for president, and he urged his fellow Texans and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to get behind Biden’s bid for the Democratic nomination. He frequently brought colleagues for fundraisers in Texas and used the opportunity to show powerful members his district’s infrastructure needs. “Obviously, that’s something on our mind given the situation in the past election, but we’re certain there’ll be a number of good candidates on the Democratic side … and we are confident that the seat will remain Democratic in then end.”ĭuring his time in Congress, Vela has focused on agriculture and defense issues, and he is a popular member of the Democratic caucus. Borjon acknowledged that the race to replace him will likely be tougher than in the past, given Republicans’ performance in South Texas. Vela has unique name identification as both an incumbent and as a member of a prominent local political family. “Texans deserve a congressman who is going to stand up to Biden’s open border agenda, not defend it.” “Filemon Vela knows Biden’s border crisis will cost him his seat and Democrats their House majority,” said House GOP campaign arm spokesperson Torunn Sinclair. Four years later, President Joe Biden won the seat by 4 points. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton carried the district by a 22-point margin. Moreover, the district saw a dramatic swing on the presidential ballot. But national Republicans identified him as a target in 2022 after the GOP performed surprisingly well along the Texas-Mexico border in 2020, and this year’s redistricting process gives the party an opportunity to redraw the district in a more favorable manner for the party. Vela won reelection in 2020 by nearly 14 percentage points in a district that has generally been considered safe for Democrats. … Whoever replaces him has big shoes to fill.” “I will expect he will continue to do that as he closes out his term. “Filemon was extremely dedicated to the people of South Texas during the time he has served in Congress,” Borjon added. Jose Borjon, a former senior adviser to Vela and a longtime confidant, said Vela never meant to overstay his time in Congress and felt now was the time to move on. “It is now time to allow other residents of South Texas the opportunity to fulfill this wonderful privilege for which I will be forever grateful,” he added. I will continue to focus on maintaining a Democratic House and Senate Majority in my capacity as a member of Congress and Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, while working diligently for the people I am so grateful to represent. “I will not be seeking reelection to the House of Representatives in 2022. “It has been an honor to represent the citizens of the 34th District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives for the last eight years,” he said in a text to The Texas Tribune. News of his retirement was first reported by Axios. Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the South Texas Gulf Coast.
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