Squad Goals
Freshman Republican Representative George Santos (NY-3), is building a team that ensures that he lives up to his campaign promises. His latest addition to the squad just might be his biggest asset yet
Once you get past the fact that Representative George Santos (NY-3) was inaccurate about some of his previous employment and educational benchmarks while running for Congress, boy, does the future seem bright.
Let us not forget that it was Santos who in the 2022 midterm elections flipped a Biden (+3) district to Republican (+8), in NY-3, a feat that was only overshadowed by the statewide success that Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis enjoyed following his massive midterm reelection in the Sunshine State.
Now it is time for Congressman Santos to get work for his constituents back in NY-3.
With the battle for the House Speakership now behind us, Congressman George Santos must distance himself from the controversies that hindered him post election and harness the momentum that the 118th Congress has with a slim Republican majority and make good on his promises to fight for America First policies and legislation.
Optics are everything inside the Beltway and it was reassuring to see Rep. Santos sitting alongside popular conservative member and Florida Republican Representative, Matt Gaetz (FL-1) through some of the floor votes during the debate for the Speaker of the House. Although a House Freedom Caucus invite may not be in the cards just yet for Santos, his soon to be voting record may play a pivotal role in reviving his what seemed to be a bright future within the party.
As Santos works towards repolishing his image, the congressional staff around him will play a critical role in whether he can make good on his campaign promises and help lead the new Republican House to scoring major victories in 2023.
Enter Vish Burra.
Last week it was confirmed that Burra, the New York firebrand who in previous years has served as the Producer of Steve Bannon’s War Room Podcast and served as the Special Operations Coordinator for Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz would be joining the Santos team in a similar position that he held when working for Gaetz.
Burra, commonly known for his fiery speeches at the New York Young Republican Galas, will hopefully be bringing some of his trademark “in your face style” of operational excellence to Rep. Santos team that definitely is in dire need of a shot in the arm after nearly two months of silence following the midterms.
As Congressman George Santos (NY-03) works to stop the bleeding with an uncommonly quiet team that seems to be around him, the addition of Burra begs the burning question now:
“When will the powerhouse that now Congressman George Santos proved to be during the campaign season begin making his appearance up at Capitol Hill?”
While the mainstream media made their best efforts to not only try and discredit the monumental achievement that was Rep. Santos’ flip in New York's Third Congressional District, they rolled out the heaviest of hitters in pundits like former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard when she sat in for Tucker Carlson interview which quickly went off rails in late December.
But instead of plowing through the mainstream media’s attempt to stop Rep. Santos from capitalizing on his election successes while getting to work for the American people and constituents of NY-03, his team, prior to Burra's onboarding, has allowed the media to continue to bully this narrative with no comprehensible solutions.
Although some may feel justified in pointing out some of Rep. Santos' untruths and inconsistencies when examining his resume, let’s make one thing that nobody is talking about more than abundantly clear:
Rep. Santos' congressional race and eventual House Seat flip victory had zero to do with his prior work experience, education and resume.
Rep. Santos ran on America First policies and principles that identified and resonated with the constituents of NY-03, and as we all wait for THAT George Santos to return to that form now at the Congressional level, I can only hypothesize that Vish Burra has the answers that everyone, including Santos, is looking for.
Although Burra is now serving in his second stint as a congressional operations guru since joining the Santos team, his most obvious expertise and talents comes in the form of messaging and more specifically, communications.
Burra, who is widely credited for the rise in popularity of Steve Bannon’s War Room Podcast, was also instrumental in Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) launching his own show, Firebrand, which since its inception has enjoyed massive success as well. Burra serves as the Executive Secretary of the New York Young Republicans Club, gaining international media attention since its takeover by Burra and President Gavin Wax. With Burra now a central figure in the saving of Rep. Santos, it won't be a surprise if a public outside-the-box strategy reverses what was predicted as an inevitable resignation into an incredible political comeback.
Burra is naturally tapped into the pulse of the America First movement and his greatest asset has always been his ability to get that message out to the people. Even while serving for Rep. Gaetz as his Special Operations Coordinator, Burra was credited with co-creating and directing Rep. Gaetz's Firebrand podcast with his current rising star Communications Director Joel Valdez. The New York Post even reported that Rep. Gaetz recommended Burra for the job with Rep. Santos.
While Vish Burra has been referred to as a “MAGA fixer” – that moniker sums up his skillset pretty well – don't expect Burra's influence to be limited to operations.
What I can say is, Vish Burra knows how to communicate clearly, accurately and with precision in his messaging that more than fires up the base, and knows how to "militarize" any department he gets his hands on.
Time will tell if Team Santos is ready to get in the ring and fight for the campaign agenda items that the congressman ran on and resuscitate what seemed to be the start of a potentially impressive political career.
Aligning himself with true fighters in the House like Reps. Lauren Boebert (CO-03) and Matt Gaetz is a good start. Santos is ignoring the media dog whistle and now must be ready to make some noise.
Bringing Vish Burra onto the team is the signal that Rep. Santos is ready and determined to get to work for the American people and show his constituents the truth about who he is and why they selected him to be their Congressman.