President Donald Trump spent part of his Memorial Day calling Rep. Conor Lamb, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, an “American fraud” in a tweet. Trump also misspelled Lamb’s last name and falsely claimed Lamb voted to make Nancy Pelosi House Speaker. Lamb, who represents a Pennsylvania district that voted for Trump in 2016, served at the Marine base on Okinawa Island and is still a member of the Marine Reserves.
On Friday, Trump endorsed Lamb’s Republican opponent, Sean Parnell, who is also a veteran. Trump retweeted one of Parnell’s recent tweets Monday, adding, “Sean Parnell is an American Hero. Connor Lamm has proven to be an American fraud, and a puppet for Crazy Nancy Pelosi. He said he would NOT vote for her for Speaker, and did. Will kill 2A. Voted to impeach (on nothing). A TOTAL & COMPLETE Sean Parnell Endorsement!”
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Lamb shared a screenshot of the tweet and said Republicans have been “lying about my record since the day I became a candidate” and said it would not stop “until we beat them at the ballot box” in November. Parnell then responded, telling Lamb he “didn’t have a record when you first became a candidate. Which is why you could lie about being a moderate.”
Although Trump called Lamb a “puppet” for Pelosi and claimed Lamb did vote for Pelosi to become Speaker of the House, this was not true. Lamb, 35, was among the 15 Democrats who did not vote for Pelosi. Instead, Lamb chose to support Rep. Joe Kennedy III from Massachusetts as the next House Speaker.
Earlier this month, Lamb was among the 14 moderate Democrats who voted against the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which Pelosi supported. “People in western Pennsylvania and all over the country have sacrificed a lot during this crisis. They expect us to put politics aside, work together and focus on defeating the coronavirus,” Lamb said in a statement, criticizing the bill as “not focused” and rushed. Lamb said a new coronavirus relief bill should have bipartisan support, which the HEROES Act lacked. Although the bill passed the House, it is not going to be taken up in the Senate.
Lamb was first elected to the House in a special election in April 2018 and was later elected to a full term in November 2018. During his time in the Marines, he prosecuted cases involving rape and sexual assault. He finished his active duty service in 2013 and has been in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve ever since. Lamb also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the Department of Justice’s Pittsburgh office. He serves on three House committees and is vice-chair of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
