Mike Lawler
American politician (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Vincent Lawler (born September 9, 1986) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district since 2023. From 2021 to 2022, he was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly from the 97th district in Rockland County.
Mike Lawler | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mondaire Jones |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 97th district | |
| In office January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Ellen Jaffee |
| Succeeded by | John W. McGowan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Vincent Lawler September 9, 1986 |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Doina |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Traugott Lawler (great-uncle) |
| Education | Manhattan College (BS) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Early life and education
Mike Lawler was born to Marie (née Fortino) and Kevin Lawler.[1] He grew up in South Salem, New York[2] and Suffern, New York. He is Catholic.[3] He is of Irish and Italian descent.[4] He graduated from Suffern High School in Suffern, New York.[5] He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Manhattan College in The Bronx in 2009 and was named the valedictorian of his graduating class.[6][7]
In October 2024, The New York Times discovered resurfaced photos of Lawler wearing a Michael Jackson costume which included blackface in 2006 at a Manhattan College Halloween party. In response, Lawler said that his costume was intended to be "truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom's kitchen. The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind."[8] It was also reported that in 2005, J. Randy Taraborrelli, a Michael Jackson biographer, helped get Lawler, then a high school senior, into the courtroom for Jackson's trial.[8]
Early career
Lawler served as Rob Astorino's campaign manager in his unsuccessful 2014 run for governor,[9] and thereafter as an assistant to Astorino as Westchester County Executive. In 2016, Lawler served as a Republican convention delegate for Donald Trump.[10]
In 2018, Lawler co-founded the political communications firm Checkmate Strategies.[11] In 2020, he was elected to the New York State Assembly for a two-year term, defeating Democratic incumbent Ellen Jaffee.[12][13]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2022
Lawler was the Republican nominee in the 2022 general election in New York's 17th congressional district, having won the August 2022 primary. He narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent and DCCC chair Sean Patrick Maloney in the November general election.[14][15][16]
2024
On November 5, 2024, Lawler was re-elected to the United States House of Representatives in the 17th congressional district of New York, besting his opponent, Democratic nominee Mondaire Jones, by 23,946 votes.[17]
2026
The New York Times reported in September 2024 that Lawler was seen as a potential candidate for governor of New York in 2026.[18] However, in July 2025, he announced he would seek reelection to the House in 2026 instead of running for governor.
Tenure
On January 4, 2023, Lawler called then-newly sworn Representative George Santos's conduct "embarrassing and unbecoming" and "certainly a distraction".[19] On January 12, Lawler called for Santos to resign.[20] Lawler voted for Kevin McCarthy in the 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election. McCarthy was unable to win the speakership on the first 14 ballots. Lawler said of the matter, "It's time for everybody to unify. It's time for everybody to move forward because the reality is the American people didn't elect us to fight over rules."[21]
After McCarthy's removal as Speaker of the House, Lawler broke with his party by being one of 18 Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan's nomination for Speaker of the House all three times. He was one of five Republicans to vote against the Parents' Bill of Rights in March 2023. He co-sponsored the bill, but said he decided not to vote for it after an unspecified amendment "went too far".[22] On June 21, 2023 Lawler voted with 20 other House Republicans to block the censure of Rep. Adam Schiff.[23][24] On July 6, 2023, Lawler introduced a bill to prohibit Washington, D.C. from adopting ranked-choice voting.[25]
For much of 2023, Lawler had a policy of banning television news cameras from his town hall meetings; he rescinded the ban in early 2024.[26][27] On October 5, 2023, he signed a letter to the House Agriculture Committee along with 15 House Republicans opposing the inclusion of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act in the 2023 farm bill. The EATS Act, introduced in response to the California farm animal welfare law Proposition 12, would have overturned state and local animal welfare laws restricting the sale of agricultural goods from animals raised in battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates. The letter argued that the legislation would undermine states' rights and cede control over U.S. agricultural policy to the Chinese-owned pork producer WH Group and its subsidiary Smithfield Foods.[28]
Lawler is a supporter of raising the cap on the state and local tax deduction (SALT).[29][30] His support for increasing the SALT deduction drew criticism from Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in May 2025.[31] President Trump encouraged House Republicans to pass a spending bill that boosts the SALT cap to $30,000, up from the current $10,000 deduction. Lawler and other blue-state Republicans representing high-tax areas argued that this proposed increase was insufficient. Regarding Lawler's push for a higher SALT deduction, Trump singled out Lawler in a May 2025 meeting, saying, "End it, Mike, just end it."[32] On July 3, 2025, Lawler voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.[33]
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Ukraine Caucus[34]
- Climate Solutions Caucus[35]
- Republican Main Street Partnership[36]
- Moldova Caucus, co-chair[37]
Committee assignments
Political positions
Lawler is a moderate Republican.[38][39][40] In 2024, he was rated as being the fourth most bipartisan member of the U.S. House during the 118th United States Congress in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy.[41]
Abortion
Lawler opposes abortion except in cases of rape or if the mother's life is at risk, but opposes a federal ban on abortion.[42]
Animal welfare
In August 2023, Lawler was a signatory on a letter to the House Agriculture Committee opposing the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, which would have overturned state and local animal welfare laws, including California's Proposition 12 and other rules restricting the sale of animal products raised in intensive battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates.[43]
In September 2024, Lawler was one of 11 House Republicans who signed a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines requesting an analysis of Chinese biotechnology and slaughter-free cultivated meat developments and soliciting recommendations to promote innovation in the U.S. alternative proteins sector.[44]
Congestion pricing
In 2023, Lawler opposed a plan by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to enact congestion pricing in Manhattan, New York, one of the most traffic congested areas of the world.[45] The change would result in a charge to most cars of $15 per day to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street. Lawler said that the congestion pricing plan was not intended to reduce congestion, but was instead an "outrageous cash grab".[46][47] In 2024, he asked president-elect Donald Trump to kill the congestion pricing plan once he gets into office.[48]
Foreign policy
In April 2026, Lawler defended and downplayed President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's "whole civilization" unless Iran gave into his demands.[49][50] He said Trump was merely threatening to target key infrastructure in Iran.[51][52]
Immigration
In 2026, Lawler was a cosponsor of the DIGNIDAD Act, which proposes a pathway to legal status for up to 12 million illegal immigrants, paired with stricter border enforcement and mandatory work and restitution requirements.[53][54] In April 2026, he was one of six Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to grant Temporary Protected Status to approximately 350,000 Haitian immigrants, despite efforts by Donald Trump to terminate the program.[55]
Israel-Palestine
During his 2022 campaign, Lawler said that traveling to Israel would be "one of my first endeavors" after taking office.[56] He supported moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 and supports expanding the Abraham Accords.[56]
In May 2023, Lawler along with Democrat Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced legislation expanding anti-boycott laws to include blocking boycotts organized by international governmental organizations, with the intended effect of stopping the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in the United States.[57] It would prohibit American citizens and companies from supporting boycotts imposed by global entities (IGOs) against U.S. allies including Israel. The bill faced heavy criticism from House Republicans and conservatives who said it would violate Americans' First Amendment rights. House Republican leadership scrapped a vote on the bill in May 2025.[58][59][60] Lawler co-sponsored a bill to ban social media platform TikTok, alleging that it had a pro-Palestinian bias.[61]
2024 presidential election
Lawler voted for Trump in the 2024 Republican primary in New York.[62] Lawler was one of six Republicans to sign a bipartisan letter pledging to respect the results of the 2024 presidential election.[63]
Personal life
Lawler, his wife, Doina, and their two daughters live in Pearl River, New York. Doina was born in Moldova.[64][65]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Lawler | 26,527 | 46.27 | +17.91 | |
| Conservative | Mike Lawler | 2,697 | 4.70 | ||
| Independence | Mike Lawler | 315 | 0.55 | ||
| SAM | Mike Lawler | 397 | 0.69 | ||
| Total | Mike Lawler | 29,936 | 52.22 | ||
| Democratic | Ellen Jaffee | 27,359 | 47.72 | −17.9 | |
| Total | Ellen Jaffee (incumbent) | 27,359 | 47.72 | ||
| Write-in | 35 | 0.06 | |||
| Total votes | 57,330 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | +35.81 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Lawler | 11,603 | 75.8 | |
| Republican | William Faulkner | 1,772 | 11.6 | |
| Republican | Charles Falciglia | 1,310 | 8.6 | |
| Republican | Shoshana David | 444 | 2.9 | |
| Republican | Jack Schrepel | 176 | 1.1 | |
| Total votes | 15,305 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sean Patrick Maloney | 130,999 | 45.6 | |
| Working Families | Sean Patrick Maloney | 8,083 | 2.8 | |
| Total | Sean Patrick Maloney (Incumbent) | 139,082 | 48.5 | |
| Republican | Mike Lawler | 124,148 | 43.3 | |
| Conservative | Mike Lawler | 17,573 | 6.1 | |
| Total | Mike Lawler | 141,721 | 49.4 | |
| Write-in | 5,885 | 2.0 | ||
| Total votes | 286,688 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Lawler | 180,924 | 47.7% | |
| Conservative | Mike Lawler | 16,921 | 4.5% | |
| Total | Mike Lawler (incumbent) | 197,845 | 52.2% | |
| Democratic | Mondaire Jones | 173,899 | 45.9% | |
| Working Families | Anthony Frascone | 7,530 | 2.0% | |
| Total votes | 379,274 | 100.0% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||