Republican Rep. Mike Lawler braved boos and jeers at a stormy town hall in suburban Rockland County as he seeks to bolster his standing in his suburban swing district.
Hundreds of constituents turned up mostly to roast the self-styled GOP moderate Sunday night over his failure to push back against the right-wing agenda of President Trump in his second term.
“What are you doing to stand in opposition to this administration?” one woman asked to cheers from the crowd.
“What are you doing specifically that warrants the label ‘moderate’?” a man asked.
Lawler sought to burnish his image as a straight-talking problem solver who can work with everyone from Trump to Democrats to get things done.
He vowed to fight to potential deep cuts to government programs spearheaded by the new administration.
“I have been very clear: I am not cutting benefits for any eligible recipient,” Lawler said.
Showing off his trademark political combativeness, Lawler downplayed the importance of the recently passed GOP budget blueprint he voted for, which analysts say will force deep cuts in Medicaid.
“That is as good as the paper it’s written on,” Lawler claimed, sparking a chorus of jeers.
Lawler ticked off a laundry list of Trump policies he opposes, including the vaccine skepticism of Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the improper deportation to El Salvador of undocumented immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“If you’d take the opportunity to listen rather than yelling, you might actually hear what you want to hear,” he told the angry audience.
Despite the opposition, Lawler has vowed to hold live town halls in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties, rejecting the advice of GOP leadership to skip the public meetings that have been lightning rods for raucous criticism of Trump’s controversial agenda.
Lawler, who could wind up running for governor, says he is running for a third term representing NY-17, an affluent and highly educated suburban district stretching north from White Plains.
He’s one of just three House Republicans elected in districts where Trump lost to Kamala Harris in the November election, making him a marquee target for Democrats as they aim to retake the House of Representatives.
Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, Army veteran Cait Conley and anti-poverty activist Jessica Reinmann are planning Democratic challenges. Ex-Rep. Mondaire Jones, who represented the district for a single term before Lawler and lost to the Republican in 2024, has said he won’t run again next year.
