Meeks was criticized for initially supporting Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama for president. His House primary election challenger was to be Ruben Wills, a former chief of staff for State Senator Shirley Huntley and an organizer for Obama. Wills said, "I was on board with Obama from Day 1; Meeks had to be dragged across the line." Some suggested that a young black political class was seeking to assert the neighborhood's power against what it saw as an older establishment, based in Harlem, that had long exercised disproportionate influence in New York City.[2][3] Wills did not qualify for the ballot, so no primary election took place.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Meeks one of the most corrupt members of Congress in 2011.[4] It was subsequently reported that his continuing ethical and criminal probes would cause his premature exit from Congress,[5] but Meeks has denied this.[6] In October 2011, hiphop artist and law school graduate Mike Scala announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary.[7] Meeks won the primary and was reelected in the November general election with 90% of the vote.
Tenure
Meeks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, November 12, 2023
On March 3, 2015, Meeks participated with fellow Democrats in a boycott of the speech delivered by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress.[8]
Meeks voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[10]
SALT deductions
In November 2021, Meeks called for increasing the cap on SALT deductions.[11]
Philippines visit
On August 25, 2007, Silvestre Reyes, chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, and four other representatives visited American troops deployed in the southern Philippines to overview the US-Philippines relationship. Reyes headed the bipartisan delegation, which included Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, member of the Appropriations Committee and the select intelligence oversight panel; Heather Wilson of the Committee on Energy and the Intelligence Committee; Meeks; and Dutch Ruppersberger of the Appropriations and Intelligence Committees. They drove to the base of the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), a US-led body that trains Filipino soldiers against terror in Barangay Upper Calarian.[12]
Fall of Afghanistan
On the day of the fall of Kabul, Meeks said in a statement that the Taliban victory was "inevitable". He also said, "It is abundantly clear that the Taliban's advance was ultimately inevitable, at least without a commitment to surge tens of thousands of U.S. troops for an unknown span of time. That is a commitment the American public has made clear it does not support."[13]
2013 CREW report
In 2013, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Meeks as one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington.[14] This was as a result of claims that he purchased a home for over $150,000 less than it was worth,[15] met with former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez on behalf of a donor,[16][17][18] and failure to disclose a private loan on congressional financial statements.[19]
Congressional auto lease
The New York Times reported that Meeks utilizes the option to use tax dollars to lease a car for use as a member of Congress. This option does not exist for Senate members. The lease is forgone by many members of Congress, but Meeks has held the most-expensive lease among all members. He has used tax dollars to lease a 2007 Lexus LS 460 for $998 per month. Meeks was unwilling to provide further comment when questioned by the Times about the lease arrangement, saying, "These are never lighthearted stories."[20]
Malaysia visit
In August 2022, Meeks traveled to Malaysia with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress as part of Pelosi's Asia tour. Malaysia was their second stop after Singapore.[21] They discussed security challenges, economic opportunities and governance priorities between Malaysia and the U.S.[22]
On October 6, 2022, The United States embassy at Jakarta stated that Meeks represented Pelosi and would deliver the keynote address at the P20 Bali summit's plenary session on "Effective Parliament, Dynamic Democracy". His speech discussed the importance of defending democratic values, combating climate change, strengthening food and energy security, advancing sustainable development and recovery from COVID-19, and deepening inter-parliamentary coordination to address these challenges.[23]
^Staff (2012). "Gregory Meeks (D-NY)". CREW's Most Corrupt. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
^Sinaga, Yuni Arisandy (October 6, 2022). Santoso, Anton (ed.). "Ketua komite luar negeri DPR AS hadiri KTT P20 di Jakarta" [Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives foreign committee attends the P20 Summit in Jakarta]. Antaranews (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 7, 2022.
^"Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
^"Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^"Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^"Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
^"Membership". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
^"Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
^"Members". Afterschool Alliance. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
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