All posts tagged "mike lawler"

'That's not what I asked!' Kasie Hunt shuts down Mike Lawler's dodge on Trump socialism

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) refused to answer CNN anchor Kasie Hunt when she pointed out President Donald Trump's policies that seem socialist.

On Thursday, Lawler appeared on CNN ahead of the second night of the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, and Hunt pressed him during an interview on whether Trump's policies contradict attacks by Republicans against socialism. Lawler is notably facing a midterm race himself and is running with Trump's endorsement.

"Congressman, the Republican-controlled House passed a resolution last week condemning socialism in all its forms," Hunt told Lawler. "I just want to put up a list of some of the things that President Donald Trump has pursued at the federal level."

She then talked about how Trump had "the government take ownership stakes in 30 private companies," including Intel, Nvidia, and Nippon Steel. "He tried to create a federal sovereign fund. He considered bailing out and nationalizing Spirit Airlines," Hunt added.

"They proposed that the government pay parents $9,000 per child per year to stay home. He's offered Trump accounts seeded with $1,000, and now there's this $5,000 check," Hunt finished, referring to Trump's promise on Wednesday that he'll pay $5,000 to every American adult if the GOP wins the House and Senate in the midterms.

"How is that series of policies not at all socialist?" Hunt asked. However, Lawler immediately began dodging the question and defaulted to repeating the attack on Democrats that's been echoed by the GOP ahead of the midterms.

"First of all, what the Democrats are advocating for is a government takeover of everything," Lawler said. "They want a government takeover of healthcare. They want a government takeover of -"

Before Lawler could continue, Hunt threw up her hands and stopped him.

"That's not what I asked you about, sir!" Hunt said. "I asked you to comment on the things the government has done, not what the Democrats have done."

"Well, that's great, Kasie," Lawler responded, not exactly denying that he was avoiding the question. "I'm explaining to you the difference between the two parties here."

MAGA rep relentlessly mocked for campaign-ad ensemble: 'Why are his clothes so tight?'

Voters have questions for MAGA Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) — not about the issues, but his pants.

Lawler was subjected to much ridicule this week after a new campaign ad — meant to focus on his key campaign issue of taxes and President Donald Trump's endorsement — drew a different kind of response, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.

The comments and reactions on social media focused more on Lawler's choice of tight pants and shirt that revealed more than what viewers might have wanted to see.

"Whoever produced this or let him film it in those clothes absolutely hates this man," posted Amanda Litman, president of the Democratic PAC Run for Something.

"Why are his clothes so tight?" asked Max Fisher, author and host of The Bigger Picture podcast. "Why is every piece of clothing on Mike Lawler multiple sizes too small?"

"This is, objectively, not a good ad," blasted Democratic political strategist Jennifer Holdsworth. "It's becoming very clear that @CaitforNewYork is going to win NY-17 pretty decisively."

Lawler's opponent is Cait Conley. His race against Conley is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the November midterms, The Daily Mail noted.

"Michael, buy a shirt that fits," political researcher Liz Charboneau wrote. "We're all paying you a lot of money."

"Heartening that a male candidate is getting so much s--- for his outfit/appearance," celebrated political campaign strategist Allyson Marcus. "Feminism!!!."

"You're mocking this but as a member of the Medium Shirt Size diaspora community, this is important visibility," Democratic political operative Rob Flaherty joked.

According to The Daily Mail, Lawler's campaign has mostly focused on going after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and the state's high taxes. On Friday, he took aim at Hochul's pause on new hyperscale data centers, which won him praise from Trump on Truth Social.

"Congressman Mike Lawler of New York was fantastic," Trump wrote. "Important that we keep him in Congress. A total winner!!!"

'Get the hell out of here!' Lawmakers explode in screaming match during hearing

A Republican and a Democratic lawmaker started screaming at each other during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

The heated clash between Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) happened during a hearing on sanctuary policies before a House Judiciary subcommittee. Raskin attempted to get Lawler to condemn the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were gunned down by Trump's immigration agents during a protest in Minneapolis in January. However, Lawler was only interested in talking about family members of victims killed by undocumented immigrants.

The back-and-forth soon escalated into a full-blown shouting match.

"While some of my colleagues may not want to hear the truth, the same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti —," Lawler said, as he was asked to end his statement.

"I do feel that outrage," Raskin said.

"You do not!" Lawler yelled back.

"Do you feel the outrage about Alex Pretti and Renee Good?" Raskin yelled back at Lawler.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Lawler said, calling the Democrat "a disgrace."

"You don't belong in this committee; you should get the hell out of here!" Raskin yelled back, pointing at the GOP lawmaker.

"You don't understand the rules of the committee, you don't understand the Constitution, you're full of it. You're absolutely full of it. Say one word about Alex Pretti and Renee Good," Raskin demanded.

Wow Raskin and Lawler are really yelling at each other pic.twitter.com/6Pkgh45ZpC
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 30, 2026

'Phony moderate' closer to losing swing seat than GOP wants to admit: columnist

A Republican vying to keep his seat in a swing district is closer to losing it than the GOP would like to admit, according to a columnist.

In a Friday article for The Contrarian, Jennifer Rubin wrote that Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), the Trump-endorsed incumbent in the race for New York's 17th congressional district, appears "isolated, stressed (frequently hurrying down a hallway to avoid reporters), and dour."

Rubin also touted the credentials of his opponent, Cait Conley, and described her biographical details as "beyond impressive" because she's the daughter of a "working class Hudson Valley family," a military veteran with three Bronze Stars, who served 16 years in the Army, and has degrees from West Point, Harvard and MIT.

Lawler, however, "conveys a near desperation to save himself from his own record of spinelessness, stuck justifying why his voting is indistinguishable from that of MAGA members from the Deep South," Rubin wrote, summing him up as "a phony moderate."

Rubin asked readers to think of Lawler "as the Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) of the House — always concerned, but never courageous" because his voting record never took a hard stance against Trump when it mattered.

"Had he cast hard 'no' votes against Trump when they mattered...he might have convinced voters he still had a moral pulse," Rubin wrote. "But, given his track record, it is safe to assume that if voters reward him with another two years in Congress, he will keep bending the knee to Trump."

Conley is "undaunted," Rubin wrote, adding that Lawler seems more outmatched in the race for NY-17 than most people realize.

"The seat is ranked as a toss-up," Rubin continued. "But the national political environment, the advantage in candidate quality, and Conley's effective three-fold attack on Lawler suggest this is more akin to a 'lean Democratic' seat."

'Exile this guy': MAGA turns on Republican for breaking with Trump on Supreme Court ruling

MAGA followers rebuffed Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Thursday after he spoke out against the Trump administration following a Supreme Court ruling that ended temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians.

Lawler wrote in a post on X that he thinks the situation in Haiti is a "humanitarian and political disaster and continues to warrant an extension."

"While I have never disputed the ability of the President to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS), I strongly disagree with ending Haitian TPS at this time," Lawler wrote, adding that the immediate ending of this status would "create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes."

Conservative social media users and MAGA supporters made their dissatisfaction with Lawler known.

"Two things can be true at the same time. We can sympathize with those who have to leave our great country but also understand that applying the skills and education they received here back in Haiti is the only hope of ever saving that nation," Julie Kelly, a MAGA-aligned political commentator and writer with more than 909,000 followers, wrote on X.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. The worst GOP Congressman. He hurts our team more than a Democrat in his seat would. Vote him out-- yes, even in the general," Jeremy Carl, senior fellow at conservative think tank the Claremont Institute, wrote on X.

"They’ve been on this 'temporary' status for nearly 20 years," Real Political Data, a conservative political commentary account with more than 58,000 followers, wrote on X.

"Exile this guy to Haiti," conservative writer Paul Kersey wrote on X.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

The worst GOP Congressman.

He hurts our team more than a Democrat in his seat would.

Vote him out-- yes, even in the general. https://t.co/AUkPwOxgqs
— Jeremy Carl (@realJeremyCarl) June 25, 2026

'Terrible week for Trump': GOP strategist warns MAGA lawmaker to distance himself now

A Republican strategist says that Trump is hurting politically right now and warned a GOP lawmaker who appeared with the president.

"This is a really terrible week for this Trump administration," Rina Shah said during an appearance on CNN. She added that Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) "should not have trumped" the president at a campaign event on Friday.

"Lawler has been confusing in the past many months," Shah explained. "By continuing to seem like he wants to be close to the White House," despite "his colleagues in the Senate...they're reading the room."

She brought up the fiery meeting between GOP senators and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, where they "really stood up" and chewed into him regarding the "anti-weaponization" fund, Shah said.

The midterm elections are six months away, and "it's time to get tough about what matters." The senators who ripped into Blanche "aren't in full revolt. They're just in midterm savior mode," Shah added.

"So Lawler, if he knew better, he would be doing that too," she explained. "He's employing a throw-it-all-at-the-wall strategy. He thinks that maybe Trump's charisma might win out with some folks, but again, the pocketbook issues."

She tried to send the message to Lawler that "your constituents hate endless war," but Trump is "making it all about himself."

GOP senator's son flips off MAGA lawmaker after hurling anti-Semitic taunts: report

The drunken son of a GOP senator hurled anti-Semitic taunts at a Republican congressman, according to new reports.

William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), confronted Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a Capitol Hill bar on Tuesday and went on an anti-Semitic rant, according to reporting by NOTUS.

After introducing himself as Rand Paul's son, William Paul started talking about Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a Trump foe who could be ousted in the primaries. NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman wrote that the confrontation happened in front of him "in full view."

According to Gorman, the William Paul told Lawler that if Massie loses the primary, it will have been the fault of "your people."

Lawler asked, "My people?" and William Paul answered, "Yeah, you Jews," Gorman reported.

"Do you think I'm Jewish?" Lawler asked. "I'm not."

"Oh wow, I'm so sorry for calling you a Jew," William Paul apologized, according to Gorman. Paul went on to say that Jews were "anti-American" and talked about how Lawler and his "Jewish supporters" served Israel more than the U.S., Gorman reported.

According to Gorman, "Lawler repeatedly pushed back and engaged with Paul, defending his support of Israel, and told Paul he was being anti-Semitic."

William Paul then started talking about GOP megadonor Paul Singer, saying he "serves Israeli interests, not American interests," and told Lawler that he "needs to watch more Tucker Carlson," Gorman reported.

"Well, you just seem to hate Jews," Lawler said, according to Gorman. "So there's no point arguing anymore."

Paul shoved a finger in Lawler's face and then flipped him off when Lawler told him to leave, Gorman reported. Paul said, "I'm sorry...I'm just really drunk."

Paul didn't respond to Gorman's request for a comment.

New scandal rocks MAGA's most vulnerable congressman: report

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) was facing scrutiny on Wednesday after a new Politico report revealed he was receiving overlapping payments, raising questions about his past as a political operative.

Lawler's advocacy and political groups paid more than $720,000 to Checkmate Strategies, the consulting firm he co-founded and sold last year for up to $50,000. While ethics experts say the arrangement is legal, it has fueled speculation about potential conflicts of interest as the Republican lawmaker pursues reelection in a highly competitive district.

"POLITICO has previously reported that Lawler’s campaigns paid his former firm $500,000 for campaign services," according to the outlet. "A new analysis of other campaign finance and lobbying records shows that in addition to those payments, before entering Congress, Lawler directed a host of organizations that paid a combined total of at least $221,515 to Checkmate for its services between 2019 and 2021."

Lawler previously worked as a lobbyist, political consultant and an executive director of the New York State Republican Party.

"But the lines between the three roles often blurred together — a reality that now poses a political liability as Democrats eye his suburban congressional seat as a prime pickup opportunity this year," Politico reported.

A review of public records has revealed that when he was serving as the director of the natural gas advocacy group New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, the organization paid Checkmate Strategies $97,000 to lobby for it in 2019 and 2020. At the time, Lawler was listed as the group's lobbyist. As leader of the economic development group 17 Forward 86, that organization ended up paying Checkmate $95,000 for lobbying. Checkmate was paid more than $26,000 for campaign mailers and consulting services from 2019 and 2021, while Lawler was chair of the Orangetown Republican Committee.

Government watchdog groups called the payments from organizations Lawler directed to his former political firm "improper" and urged that such arrangements forbidden.

"These kinds of self-dealing transactions should be banned," Rachael Fauss, a senior policy advisor with the group Reinvent Albany, told Politico. "No nonprofit board or political committee should allow their leadership to enter into contracts with another entity they have a financial stake in. Unfortunately, attempts to rein this in have failed for decades."

'You're all cowards': MAGA lawmaker drowned by jeers and boos as town hall turns ugly

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) faced off with an angry crowd as he was booed during a fiery town hall this weekend in New York, according to reports.

Lawler was meeting with constituents at Mahopac High School on Sunday when he was met with a hostile audience, lohud.com reported.

"As at his previous sessions, a steady din of jeers and shouts washed over his responses and drowned him out at times — mixed with applause and cheers from his supporters after some responses," the outlet reported.

This was Lawler's third town hall so far in 2026 and his seventh public chat in his 17th district since President Donald Trump's second term in office. He tried to defend himself throughout the contentious event, claiming he was one of the few Republicans in Congress currently hosting town halls.

He reportedly kept defending his positions and lectured the crowd while the public was showing frustration towards him and the Trump administration.

"We're in a high school auditorium, and high school students act a lot better than you are acting," Lawler told the crowd as the heckling started. "Actually act like an adult, and stop."

Lawler defended Trump's war in Iran, reiterating the Trump administration's talking point that the conflict was aimed to avoid Iran obtaining or making a future nuclear weapon.

But one of his constituents challenged him — and the crowd cheered him on when he directly called Lawler out for his support of Trump. He continued his criticism of Trump until security guards pulled the microphone away from him and escorted him out.

"You say that when you disagree with Trump, you will tell him so, but that's not enough," one man said. "You must impeach. He's a fraud, he's corrupt, he's an incompetent psychopath. The Republican Party and you are enabling him. You're all cowards, and you're spineless."

Lawler was slated to hold another town hall later this year in Dutchess County. That date and location has not yet been announced.

Struggling MAGA rep under fire as veteran kicked out of town hall meeting amid ICE fury

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) has come under fire after he had a veteran removed from a town hall meeting after asking questions about ICE.

The Trump-supporting congressman, whose seat is considered at high risk in this year's midterms, appeared at the SUNY Rockland Community College's Cultural Arts Center, where 450 members of the public attended to ask questions. A cordoned-off area outside saw a further 100 people gather in a protest labeled "Vigil for Victims of ICE".

Lawler was asked for his thoughts on what his "line" was when it came to opposing Donald Trump's administration and the rise in ICE presence in states across the country. One person shouted, "Answer the f---ing question."

That person was removed from the audience after Lawler requested they were taken out of the venue, the local news website Lohud reported. Lawler said, "Hey, bro, you can leave now. Goodbye, goodbye."

The audience member was escorted out by a Rockland County sheriff's deputy as other members of the crowd chanted "let him stay." It has since been reported that the audience member escorted out of the building was a former US Navy veteran.

Nyack resident Emily Feiner, who previously made headlines after being carried out of a separate town hall meeting hosted by Lawler, has since commented on the incident.

Feiner, a retired social worker for the Veterans Administration, said, "Tonight (Lawler) had two U.S. veterans removed for demanding that he actually answer constituents' questions rather than grandstanding and gaslighting us.

"As a retired VA social worker this is shocking to me."

Lawler has since stated those removed from the venue during his town hall meeting were "removed for their conduct, not their questions."

Lawler made it clear he thought the deaths of both Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hand of ICE agents in Minneapolis were "tragic" instances, but added both situations were "preventable." The GOP rep has also said ICE agents should not be wearing masks.