In an escalating war-of-words wrestling match against the larger scale backdrop of polling and fundraising that favor NJ Democrats, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance’s (R-7) chief of staff upbraided Democratic candidate Tom Malinowski, the former assistant secretary of state running for the Democratic nomination in CD7, on a post-Syria airstrike policy point.

Malinowski, who on the campaign trail routinely refers to the “Lance Dance,” said the Congressman flip-flopped on Syria. Lance – who has $850K cash on hand to Malinowski’s $740K, but was outraised by the challenger in the last two quarters – had something to say in response.

“If Tom Malinowski came to Capitol Hill and pleaded with members of Congress to support President Obama’s ‘red line’ policy on Syria, his efforts were weak and ineffective,” said Todd Mitchell, chief of staff to Lance. “Mr. Malinowski never requested to meet with Congressman Lance.

“The fact is Tom Malinowski and the Obama Administration never offered a clear and concise plan on military intervention in Syria to Congress,” Mitchell added. “In January of 2017, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice stated that the Obama Administration’s decision to step back from the red line and military action in support of diplomacy was a great success, asserting that Assad’s chemical weapons had been removed.  Such claims, we now know, were tragically inaccurate. Congressman Lance believes that diplomatic efforts should be tried first but military action should never be off the table. The Trump Administration coordinated last week’s precise strike with Britain and France. It should come before Congress if it wants to engage in sustained action in Syria.”