Salazar criticizes Ros-Lehtinen for attending State of the Union as Shalala’s guest

In 2018, former Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen stood next to TV journalist Maria Elvira Salazar after she won the Republican primary for her Miami congressional seat, making the case that Salazar was the best candidate to carry on her legacy as the first Latina in Congress.

“It’s got to stay in the hands of someone who understands about limited government, about less bureaucratic regulations, about more freedom, help for the oppressed people throughout the world, whether it’s Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, wherever it is,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a speech at Salazar’s victory party.

“And that voice of freedom is going to be the voice of Maria Elvira Salazar.”

But in 2020, Salazar, who is running for Congress against Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala for a second time after losing the general election in 2018, is publicly criticizing Ros-Lehtinen and Shalala for attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech together on Tuesday. Shalala invited Ros-Lehtinen as a guest, and she accepted.

In a Spanish language radio interview Tuesday morning with the radio show Contacto Directo, on Actualidad Radio Miami, Salazar criticized Shalala for inviting Ros-Lehtinen as her State of the Union guest because the lawmakers “are from the same political elite.”

“Ileana is now a lobbyist, her interests changed,” Salazar said on the radio. “They’re from the political class. People are tired of that elite.”

In an interview with the Miami Herald after the radio show, Salazar said Shalala “should have invited a common man or woman who exemplifies the problems we are facing in District 27.”

“Donna is part of that power elite for 30 years and president of the Clinton Foundation. She feels a lot more comfortable with the politicians than the people she claims to represent,” Salazar said.“ Ileana has been to those events for 30 years. It’s not about Ileana, it’s about Donna. Once again she proves what she is, part of the power elite.”

Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019, registered as a foreign agent representing the United Arab Emirates last month.

She officially became a lobbyist with the Washington-based law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld shortly after the end of a mandated one-year cooling-off period barring former lawmakers from becoming lobbyists.

According to a Justice Department filing, Ros-Lehtinen will “provide outreach to U.S. government officials and counsel on policy issues related to a number of issues including, among others: export controls and sanctions, trade policies, human rights, U.S. foreign and defense policies, foreign media registration and strengthening trilateral relations and regional security.”

Salazar said former lawmakers should never become lobbyists.

“I would denounce that forever. If you are part of the government, you should never be a lobbyist, period,” Salazar said, adding that she also favors term limits. “If you choose to [serve in Congress], it’s a very big sacrifice.”

Ros-Lehtinen, who is also paid monthly columnist for the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Shalala issued a statement saying she invited Ros-Lehtinen “in the spirit of reminding our community and the nation of the importance of bipartisanship.”

“Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is a longtime friend of mine who served with distinction in Congress for almost 30 years,” Shalala said in a statement. “While she and I may not agree on every issue, we share a commitment to public service and doing what’s best for South Florida.”

Shalala and Salazar are likely headed for a rematch in November, though Shalala is the favored candidate after beating Salazar by six percentage points in 2018 and accumulating $1.2 million to spend on her reelection campaign, according to campaign fundraising reports. Salazar has $617,000 to spend on her campaign.

Salazar said she thinks Ros-Lehtinen “did a stellar job” as a member of Congress, but should not have accepted the invitation from a Democrat who voted to impeach Trump.

“I would have never accepted this invitation,” Salazar said. “I think she should have given this opportunity to somebody else that is part of District 27 and someone who can showcase the problems of the district.”

Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 4:53 PM.