'Call me Raja': Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi claps back at Florida Councilman

Indian-origin US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi clapped back at Florida-based Palm Bay Council member Chandler Langevin, who had targeted him on X, mocking his name as "unpronounceable" and labeling him a "foreign occupier." Langevin, tagging the Department of Homeland Security, wrote: "I would like to report a foreign occupier. Name: Unpronounceable. Country of origin: Tatooine."

Krishnamoorthi responded with wit, saying, "You can just call me Raja. I guess we can just call you… racist." He added that while people could shorten his name if needed, Langevin's behavior reflected unrelenting hatred toward Indians.
The Congressman also condemned Langevin’s call for the mass removal of Indian immigrants, stating, "It's unacceptable and dangerous that in 2025 we're hearing elected officials call for the mass removal of Indian Americans. This rhetoric echoes the cruelty of Donald Trump's mass ICE raids and fuels a climate of fear that harms families across our nation. When hate speech is normalised and communities are scapegoated, our democracy is weakened."

Langevin, a member of the Palm Bay City Council, had claimed that Indians in America only seek to benefit their home countries and argued they should be ousted. His remarks sparked widespread controversy, leading the city council to vote for his removal. Langevin later clarified that his target was migrants and illegal aliens, not the Indian-American community, though his attack on Krishnamoorthi came after the Congressman condemned Langevin’s earlier statements.