Rep. Mike Lawler Refuses to Denounce President Trump’s Attacks on the Gateway Tunnel Project
For someone who claims to be a ‘moderate’ willing to buck Republican leadership, Congressman Lawler has consistently toed the party line
HUDSON VALLEY, NEW YORK — In an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl this Sunday, Congressman Mike Lawler refused to denounce President Trump’s repeated attacks on the Gateway Tunnel Project, which would serve as a vital connection into Manhattan for the representative’s 339,000 Rockland County constituents. While Rep. Lawler acknowledged the importance of the project for his district, he would not criticize the President’s attempts to hold federal funding hostage in a ploy to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles Airport after himself. At a time when New Yorkers are struggling under the weight of skyrocketing health care costs, rising grocery prices, and higher utility bills, Mike Lawler continues to prove that his loyalty is to party leaders, not to the people in his district feeling the squeeze.
“The fact that Congressman Lawler is still trying to brand himself as a ‘moderate’ who’s willing to buck party leadership is laughable,” said Paul, a retired professor from Suffern. “The Gateway Tunnel Project is creating tens of thousands of jobs and bringing billions in economic activity to the region, and President Trump is holding all of that hostage so that he can try to slap his name on a couple more buildings. If Mike Lawler can’t even speak up and condemn that, what will he stand up for? It’s not enough to just say that you’re willing to defy your party to fight for your constituents—you have to actually do it once in a while.”
The Gateway Tunnel Project, which would provide a new passenger rail connection between Manhattan and New Jersey, has been paused since Friday, when President Trump refused to release $16 billion in previously frozen federal funds. Over 1,000 construction workers have already lost their jobs because of the freeze, with an estimated 95,000 additional jobs and billions in economic activity hanging in the balance. With layoffs in January reaching their highest level since 2009 and the cost-of-living crisis in the Hudson Valley continuing to escalate, this loss of jobs and local investment would be a devastating blow to the Rockland economy that New Yorkers simply can’t afford.
This is not the first time that Congressman Lawler has failed to stand up for key infrastructure projects in New York. Last year, as part of the Republican Tax Law, Rep. Lawler voted to repeal a range of clean energy tax credits and federal grants, endangering dozens of clean energy and manufacturing projects across the state, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs, and raising utility costs for New Yorkers.
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About Empire State Voices
Empire State Voices (ESV) is a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday working New Yorkers. ESV is fighting for economic policies that make life more affordable for constituents and holding members of Congress across the state accountable when they fail to do the same.
