Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, framed himself as a moderate Republican willing to work with Democrats and criticize the Trump administration as necessary, while also defending the administration’s agenda and officials during a volatile town hall in West Nyack, New York.
“I’ve been rated the fourth most bipartisan member of Congress. I’ve also been rated the most effective freshman member of the 118 Congress,” Lawler said. “So, to those of you who feel that you’re not being represented, the fact is that I have been doing the job effectively on behalf of our district.”
The crowd at the event, which consisted only of residents of New York’s 17th Congressional District, in return consistently heckled the freshman lawmaker throughout the nearly 90-minute event, urging him to more aggressively push back against several of Trump’s agenda items.
Attendees at the town hall asked Lawler about Trump’s deportation policies, particularly his administration’s recent decision to remove a Honduran native and her 2-year-old American child, and Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Lawler responded by calling on the administration to abide by federal court orders, including a ruling ordering it to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States. If not, Lawler said the administration could face contempt charges.
“What you will have if the administration does not facilitate the return of both either a U.S. citizen or in the case of Mr. Abrego Garcia, you will have the courts take significant action holding numerous people in contempt and that, and that will happen if they do not abide by the court ruling,” Lawler said.
Lawler received several questions from attendees who are worried about slashes to benefits through budget reconciliation.
“When it comes to Medicaid, I’ve been very clear. I am not cutting benefits for any eligible recipient period,” he said, though the crowd continued to push him on the subject.
Asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reported use of Signal, Lawler said the use of the platform “to communicate any classified or sensitive information is wrong,” before going on to defend the former Fox host.
“The question to me is on the actual military preparedness and readiness, okay. And thus far, on the operations that the military has conducted under Secretary Hegseth, those operations themselves have gone well,” Lawler said.
