Mr Zeldin, once considered a moderate, has been an outspoken supporter of Mr Trump, voting in Parliament to overturn the results of the 2020 election. But Mr. Zeldin was a little more cautious about his feelings about Mr. Trump’s political prospects, saying, “If President Trump wants to run, he has to be a candidate,” adding that he believed the former president would be next Republican nominee. Mr Zeldin, a four-term lawmaker from Long Island, sought to address other issues he thought deserved federal attention, such as illegal immigration, foreign policy and the supply chain. “That’s where Congress should be spending its time right now,” he said. Mr. Astorino, the former Westchester County official who was the party’s failed candidate for governor in 2014, went further in acknowledging the riots at the Capitol, calling January 6 “a horrible day in the history of our nation” and saying that Mr. Trump “bears some responsibility” for the mob attack. But he called the hearings “political theater.” Mr. Astorino generally avoided the verbal altercation between Mr. Zeldin and Mr. Wilson in the CBS studio, trying to express a calmer presence. “This situation is a mess,” he said, adding, “I ran in ’14 and everything has gotten worse.” Social issues swept through the night, with a possible Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade expected this month. Perhaps aware of New York’s strong liberal tendency – Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two to one in the polls – none of the four on Monday directly called for Roe’s ouster, though many said there should be restrictions on who can has abortions and when women can seek them.
