Vice President JD Vance, in what was initially billed as a nonpolitical event on Long Island, spent the majority of his 18 minutes onstage Wednesday attacking Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, prompting the congressman to call for a probe into whether the federal government was funding a campaign rally in his district.

Several hundred attended the event inside Gold Coast Studios, the cavernous movie and television production studios in Bethpage and once the manufacturing site of Grumman warplanes and aerospace technology, where Vance called Suozzi “the worst congressman in the entire United States of America” who “runs around pretending he is an ally and an advocate of the people of this district.”

“So from one vice president to the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District: What I am asking you is to kick crazy Tom Suozzi the hell out of Washington,” Vance said.

Suozzi, who held an impromptu press conference after the event, punched back, calling the vice president “a phony, childish, amateurish liar.”

“Bring it on, Mr. Vice President, I will debate you anytime,” Suozzi said. “I will debate him about his policies and how they hurt the people of my district.”

Vance’s appearance in Suozzi’s district comes as early voting has begun in New York’s June primaries. Republicans Mike LiPetri, of Farmingdale, and Greg Hach, of Oyster Bay, are vying to be their party’s candidate in a midterm election this November for the seat now held by Suozzi, who faces his own party primary.

Vance was the only speaker to mention Suozzi’s name at the event, which also included remarks from Republican candidates such as Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Rep. Nick LaLota and LiPetri, a former state assemblyman backed by the Republican committees of both Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as state GOP leaders and President Donald Trump.

“The vice president came here saying he was going to do an official event,” Suozzi said. “And it was a purely political event using taxpayer dollars.”

Suozzi said he would inquire about the nature of the visit and whether campaign funds should have been used to support Vance’s trip, event security and the studio rental.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment. The event had been announced beforehand as focused on “crime and fraud.”

Blakeman spokesperson Chris Boyle did not respond to Newsday’s questions about whether Nassau County police staffing the event were paid for through county taxpayer dollars.

Nassau GOP Chairman Joseph Cairo said he was “delighted” the vice president came to Long Island and his remarks “clearly pointed out Tom Suozzi’s record of voting against eliminating taxes on tips, Social Security and overtime.”

Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia said he believed Vance called out Suozzi to make a point about “career politicians.”

“Sometimes you have to call out the local representative like Tom Suozzi,” Garcia said. “Certainly there are Democrats who call out the president in their speeches.”

State and Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said Vance’s appearance was “unbecoming of anyone in that higher office.”

“Unfortunately, the vice president on a government visit decided to play the role of an extremist party hack,” Jacobs said.

Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan group that emphasizes government accountability, agreed with Suozzi that Vance’s comments urging support for LiPetri were entirely political and campaign messaging — and had nothing to do with the “official business” of the vice president.

Because of that, Holman said, federal rules mandate that “this event must be paid for and disclosed by a campaign account, either Vance’s own campaign account if his campaign paid for it, or LiPetri’s campaign account if his campaign paid for it.”

“The trip itself could have mixed some official duties elsewhere,” Holman acknowledged of Vance’s overall itinerary. But if so, he said, “The trip should be classified a ‘mixed trip,’ with taxpayers paying for the official duties portion and campaign funds paying for the campaign portion.”

The 3rd Congressional District spans northeastern Queens, northern Nassau County and parts of northwestern Suffolk County. In November 2024, Suozzi defeated LiPetri, winning reelection even as Trump won the district and Nassau County.

Political handicappers do not include the district among the nation’s leading “toss-up” battleground House races this fall as Republicans attempt to keep their slim control of Congress. But both the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections newsletter cast it as only “lean Democrat” as opposed to “likely Democrat,” meaning it could become competitive by November.

The latest campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission show Suozzi has a big head start on fundraising. He’s already collected more than $5 million for his reelection bid.

LiPetri — who did not enter the race until February — reported having raised $993,323 as of June 3.

Newsday’s Laura Figueroa contributed reporting.