On Thursday, former Phoenix mayor and current Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton posted a photo to social media of two of his Republican colleagues sitting near him on a flight from D.C. back to Phoenix. GOP Rep. Andy Biggs looks directly at the camera, headphones perched on his head, while fellow Republican congressman David Schweikert sits two seats down wearing earbuds.
The seat between them is empty.
“The longest commercial flight in the world is Singapore to New York,” Stanton wrote. “The second longest is for whoever gets stuck in this middle seat from Washington to Phoenix.”
The longest commercial flight in the world is Singapore to New York. The second longest is for whoever gets stuck in this middle seat from Washington to Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/QsBChj8R0A
— Greg Stanton (@gregstantonaz) April 10, 2025
It’s a good joke, but one that Sen. Mark Kelly — also a Democrat — thought could be improved. He quote-tweeted Stanton’s post with his own crack.
“My longest flight was 16 days. It was to the (International Space Station),” wrote the former astronaut. “I know which one I’d prefer.”
When asked about his post, Stanton told Phoenix New Times in a statement from the plane that “while we strongly disagree on the current budget resolution working its way through Congress, the tweet was in jest.” Lawmakers in the same congressional delegation often have cordial or even friendly relations despite intense party differences, as Stanton added, “My GOP colleagues from AZ also like to kid me.”
Kelly, Biggs and Schweikert have not responded to questions from New Times.
Stanton has cracked that joke at least twice before, though, and in a way that left much less to interpretation. In October 2023, Stanton shared a smiling photo of himself, Schweikert and the ever-beaming Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani cozied up on a flight home to Phoenix.
“The middle seat on a long flight from Washington DC to Phoenix can be rough,” Stanton wrote.
In September 2024, he shared a photo with former Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran in between Schweikert and Ciscomani on a similar flight. “Thoughts and prayers, Tom O’Halleran,” he wrote.
Of course, the temperature has changed in D.C. since those earlier tweets. These days, Biggs has been eagerly cheerleading President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the federal government and end birthright citizenship. While Schweikert recently expressed some concern about Trump’s hamfisted attempt to tariff the entire world, he’s still a hard-right conservative who has drawn protests outside his office in Phoenix.
Some commenters joined in, taking Stanton’s joke with varying levels of seriousness. Marlene Galán-Woods, who is running for Schweikert’s seat, wrote, “Talk about a short straw.” Others, like Republican state Rep. Rachel Keshel, wrote that Stanton’s the one she won’t want to sit next to because “your progressive bs might accidentally ooze onto me.”
Even if Stanton’s post was meant as light-hearted ribbing, he might take advantage of the access. Schweikert hasn’t held a town hall meeting since Trump’s election, and as Biggs mounts a run for governor, he apparently speaks only to Republican constituents.
That middle seat may be uncomfortable — in his statement, Stanton added that “the gentleman who sat in the middle seat did drink a double bourbon” — but sitting there may be the best way to get answers out of the two GOP lawmakers. After all, it’s a long flight and there’s nowhere else to go.
