A GOP congressman told a constituent's boss that she opposed Trump. Afraid and uncomfortable, she resigned.

Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (N.J.) signed and delivered a fundraising letter in March to the board member of a local bank highlighting the existence of activist groups whose "sole agenda is to reverse the results of the November election" and "to stop our Republican majority from making good on our promises." In a handwritten note at the bottom of the letter, Frelinghuysen warned the board member that an employee of the bank — and one of his constituents — was "one of the ringleaders" of such a group, NJ 11th for Change. WNYC reported the group had "been pressuring Frelinghuysen to meet with constituents in his district and oppose the Trump agenda."
Though Frelinghuysen's campaign office claimed the note was "brief and innocuous," the alert reportedly caused the employee, Saily Avelenda, to be "questioned and criticized for her involvement," WNYC said. Avelenda claims she was even asked "to write a statement" to her CEO. "Needless to say, that did cause some issues at work that were difficult to overcome," she said.
Avelenda, formerly a senior vice president and assistant general counsel at the bank, decided to resign. "I thought my congressman ... put me in a really bad situation as the constituent, and used his name, used his position, and used his stationery to try to punish me," she said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jordan Libowitz, spokesman for the non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the note was "certainly troubling." "Whether or not it breaks a criminal statute is one issue, but the very clear issue is that it appears that a member of Congress might be using his power to threaten someone's employment because of their political activities," Libowitz said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Israeli army's 'tourist hikes' in occupied Golan Heights
Under The Radar 'Provocative' twice-daily tours into territory seized from Syria have quickly sold out
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
The Resistance: Is it finally taking off?
Feature Mass protests erupted across all 50 states during the 'Hands Off!' demonstrations against the Trump administration
By The Week US
-
Loomer: Feeding Trump's paranoia
Feature Trump fires National Security Council officials after the conspiracy theorist attended a meeting in the Oval Office
By The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump pauses some tariffs but ramps up China tax
Speed Read The president suspended most 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days and raised his tariffs for China to 125%
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Ukraine nabs first Chinese troops in Russia war
Speed Read Ukraine claims to have f two Chinese men fighting for Russia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
IRS chief resigning after ICE deal on taxpayer data
Speed Read Several IRS officials are stepping down after the tax agency is forced to share protected taxpayer records to further Trump's deportation drive
By Peter Weber, The Week US