Dear Editor,
Was Congressman Mike Lawler really successful at “threading the needle” ("'Mr. Salt' Mike Lawler threads the needle at Trump rally," June 4, Page 7) at his May 22 rally?
Lawler is at the center of an identity crisis of his own making. Is he a moderate Republican working with Democrats in a meaningful bi-partisan manner or is he a Trump Republican? The evidence shows that he is still and always has been MAGA Mike.
That recent Lawler “town hall” last month at Rockland Community College with Trump as the main speaker set off big discussions among CD-17 residents. Why would Lawler bring an unpopular Republican President to his swing district? Well, there are only so many ways you can spin it and despite so many efforts, the facts always come out.
Supporters claim that Lawler is “politically astute,” saying to moderates and independents that some Republicans call him a RINO, (Republican in name only), meaning that he is not as extreme as his Democratic opponents claim. We say this claim of moderation is disingenuous as evidenced by Lawler’s voting record in Congress.
From supporting Trump’s tariffs that raise prices for everyone, to funding ICE and Border Patrol’s $70 billion recent expansion despite ICE’s persistent and serious criminal and civil abuses, to supporting the continuation of Trump's costly $1 billion a day war with Iran, Lawler’s vote is with MAGA. On the issue of healthcare in his district, Lawler voted yes for the One Big Beautiful Bill “OBBB” in 2025, which includes substantial reductions to healthcare, including Medicare/Medicaid spending across the board. The damage that Lawler’s “yes” vote has caused to people in our Congressional district is enormous.
The OBBB, for which Lawler cast the deciding Congressional vote, cut a minimum of $880 billion nationwide in funding to Medicare and Medicaid for several fiscal years. Healthcare budget cuts to NY State alone will total $128 billion from FY 2025 to FY 2034, reducing Medicare and Medicaid support and reimbursements to hospitals throughout the Hudson Valley region. These reductions are tied to that same $128 billion budget reduction affecting NYS and not to any waste or fraud reductions. Every hospital in this region has cut some services in response and, according to consumer advocate organization Public Citizen, 45 hospitals statewide are financially at risk. Currently, there are two hospitals in our region that are in the process of re-evaluating services and possibly closing their doors. These hospitals, Good Samaritan in Suffern and Montefiore Nyack, are the only two hospitals and emergency rooms in Rockland county. These are cuts that affect everyone who lives in this Congressional district, whether it is Westchester, Dutchess, Rockland or Putnam county.
Lawler has voted repeatedly with MAGA Republicans on Trump’s agenda impacting the most important key issues of healthcare and affordability here in CD-17. The bi-partisan efforts that Lawler boasts about did not succeed legislatively and he is not finding the “middle ground” but only paying lip service to it. We who live in CD-17, once we hear the facts, we know we deserve better at election time this November.
-North Salem Democratic Committee
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