Rep. Nancy Mace quoted a post from New York congressional nominee Claire Valdez and said anyone serving in the United States Congress must have America as their “one allegiance only.” Valdez, the Democratic nominee in New York’s 7th District, had posted a message marking Mexican Independence Day. The exchange spread online, where some users backed Mace’s loyalty standard, and others said Valdez was expressing heritage, not a competing allegiance.
In the original post, Valdez wrote, “215 years ago, Mexicans fought an empire that demanded our land and our labor. And we won,” adding, “I’ll carry that fight with me to Congress as New York’s first Mexican American representative,” and closing with “¡Viva la Independencia, Viva México!”
Mace replied, “If America isn’t your one allegiance and one allegiance only, you have no business serving in the UNITED STATES Congress. Just saying.” Valdez also wrote that she had “met comrades in Morena” and was “strengthened not just by Mexico’s history but its present.”
The post is just text and photos. There is no video and no audio, so you cannot hear what was said at the meeting. One photo shows Valdez standing outside. The other shows a group sitting around a conference table.
How Users Are Reading Mace’s Warning
Some users backed Mace’s stance, writing “Absolutely” and “Conflicted allegiance is a big problem.”
Others focused on Valdez’s wording, asking, “You are aware you would not be representing Mexico in the American Congress?” and “Are you campaigning for Mexico or America?”
A separate group treated the message as heritage rather than a competing oath, with one commenter saying, “Being proud of your heritage is okay,” while adding that a member of Congress should still be “an American first.”
Others compared the post to older ethnic politics in New York, arguing that “Jewish and Irish pols in New York and Boston have done that for generations,” and asking why similar language draws more heat now.
Replies to Mace also raised a consistency question, including “Go tell that to the AIPAC committee.”
For now, this is just one more fight over who members of Congress should answer to. Some people see Valdez’s post as pride in her background. Others see it as a loyalty problem.
