1. Michael Vincent Lawler was born on September 9,1986 and is an American politician serving as the US representative for New York's 17th congressional district since 2023.
23 Facts About Mike Lawler
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Mike Lawler earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Manhattan College in 2009 and was named valedictorian of his graduating class.
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In 2024, Mike Lawler received an honorary doctorate from Touro University.
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On October 3,2024, The New York Times discovered resurfaced photos of Mike Lawler wearing a Michael Jackson costume that included blackface in 2006 at a Manhattan College Halloween party.
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Mike Lawler co-founded the political communications firm Checkmate Strategies in 2018.
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Mike Lawler previously worked in the Westchester County Executive's Office as an advisor to Rob Astorino and as executive director of the New York State Republican Party.
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Mike Lawler previously served as deputy town supervisor of Orangetown, New York.
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Additionally, Mike Lawler served as a Republican convention delegate for Donald Trump in 2016.
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Mike Lawler was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020 for a two-year term, defeating Democratic incumbent Ellen Jaffee.
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Mike Lawler was the Republican nominee in the 2022 general election in New York's 17th congressional district, having won the August 2022 primary.
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On November 5,2024, Mike 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 approximately seven percentage points.
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The New York Times said Mike Lawler was "openly entertaining a bid for governor in 2026" while running for re-election to Congress.
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On January 4,2023, Mike Lawler called then-newly sworn Representative George Santos's conduct "embarrassing and unbecoming" and "certainly a distraction".
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Mike Lawler voted for Kevin McCarthy in the 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election.
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Mike Lawler was one of five Republicans to vote against the Parents' Bill of Rights in March 2023, and the only Republican not part of the Freedom Caucus to vote against it.
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Mike Lawler co-sponsored the bill, but said he decided not to vote for it after an unspecified amendment "went too far".
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For much of 2023, Mike Lawler had a policy of banning television news cameras from his town hall meetings; he rescinded the ban in early 2024.
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In 2024, Mike Lawler was rated as the fourth most bipartisan member of the US House during the 118th United States Congress in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy.
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In 2023, Mike Lawler opposed a plan by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to enact congestion pricing in Manhattan, New York City, one of the most traffic congested areas of the world.
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Mike Lawler said that the congestion pricing plan was not intended to reduce congestion, but was instead an "outrageous cash grab".
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Mike Lawler stated on Twitter in December 2022 that he would have voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act if he were in office at the time.
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Mike Lawler voted for Trump in the 2024 Republican primary in New York.
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Mike Lawler was one of six Republicans to sign a bipartisan letter in which they pledged to respect the results of the 2024 presidential election.