A Democratic member of Congress who was shown the door by voters is checking out early.
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-Westchester) announced his office won’t be taking on new constituent cases for November and December — a full two months before he leaves office.
“At this time, we are not accepting any new casework requests. For new or urgent casework requests, please reach out to your U.S. Senate offices,” reads a note added to Jones’ official House website in mid-October.
Jones, a junior “Squad” member, will leave the House on Jan. 3 after just a single term.
Constituent cases can run the gamut from immigration services to securing federal benefits to help applying to a military academy. Providing constituent services is a core responsibility for members of Congress and they employ multiple staffers whose jobs are explicitly dedicated to it.
Jones came up short in an August primary. He employs 18 people, according to the most recent House disclosure forms, who could draw up to $184,620 in taxpayer-funded salary for the two do-nothing months, according to an estimate based on publicly available compensation data.
And Jones himself will pocket $29,000 in salary in November and December.
Jones’ district office in White Plains was completely shuttered when The Post visited this week. A few staffers milled around his New City office which was in the process of being dismantled.
Jones has in the past loudly trumpeted vows of service to his voters: “I will never stop fighting for you,” he said in June 2020. In an October interview with the Journal News he floated another run for office down the line.
“This is the best way we have decided to serve our constituents to make sure we are fully closing out the cases that we have,” a Jones staffer said — saying they were following guidance from the House Chief Administrative Officer.
One lawmaker not taking an early exit is Rep. Chris Jacobs, an upstate Republican representing Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, and Livingston counties — who is retiring at the end of the current Congress.
“I was elected to serve until the beginning of January, and I take that commitment seriously, especially with regard to providing vital services to my constituents for as long as possible,” he told The Post. “My office is planning to accept new casework from constituents into December before we begin transition procedures. Additionally, we will be notifying any constituents with open cases to let them know who the new appropriate representative will be for them to contact in their new district.”