“SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!”—Frustrations Boil Over as an Indignant Rep. Lawler Continues to Defend Tariffs, Medicaid Cuts
Protestors and Attendees Alike Express Outrage at Rep. Lawler’s “Stupid Fucking” Complicity with the Trump Agenda
SOMERS, NEW YORK — Yesterday, as Congressman Mike Lawler once again faced an angry crowd at a packed town hall event in Somers, even more frustrated constituents took to the streets outside the venue to make their voices heard.
Led by Empire State Voices, Indivisible Westchester, Northern Westchester Indivisible, Indivisible Yorktown, and CWA District 1, protesters waved signs and banners expressing their concerns over their Congressman’s continued complicity with the Trump agenda. From DOGE cuts and threats to Medicaid to Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts for billionaires, the so-called ‘moderate’ has faithfully toed the party line despite continued outcries from the very people he represents.
As Congressman Mike Lawler once again faced an angry crowd at a packed town hall event in Somers, even more frustrated constituents took to the streets outside. | CREDIT: Empire State Voices
“Rep. Lawler should keep his hands off our benefits,” said Flo Bradley, a retired public school teacher from Somers, “it’s something we’ve paid into. He speaks well but votes with the wealthy.”
Inside the venue, frustrations boiled over as an indignant Rep. Lawler defended his votes in favor of Trump’s tariffs, cuts to essential social safety net programs like Medicaid, and tax breaks for the ultra-rich. As attendees loudly voiced their objections to their representative, who repeatedly claimed to want to hear their concerns, multiple constituents were forcibly removed from the venue. Photos and videos quickly began circulating of Emily Feiner of Nyack, who was carried out by law enforcement after calling out Rep. Lawler’s failure to answer her question about whether or not he had a ‘red line’ on his support for the Trump agenda.
“Mike Lawler showed that his claims of being someone who is open and available to constituents on both sides’ are a lie,” said Jennifer Cabrera, Chair of the Westchester-Putnam Working Families Party, who was also physically removed by law enforcement for filming the incident. “His undemocratic rules for attending town halls are simply a way to silence those constituents with whom he disagrees. I’m grateful to Emily for standing firm and not accepting Lawler’s evasive response to her question: how much damage has to be done before he finds the courage to stand up to Donald Trump? Does one even exist? Constituents deserve an answer.”
Emily Feiner of Nyack was carried out by law enforcement after calling out Rep. Lawler’s failure to answer her question. | CREDIT: Jennifer Cabrera, NY Working Families Party
Despite his continued claims of bipartisanship, Congressman Lawler’s record does indeed ‘speak for itself.’ Just last month, Rep. Lawler voted to advance the Republican budget plan, which authorized a more than $5.3 trillion extension of tax cuts primarily benefiting the wealthy while slashing $1.5 trillion in funding for critical federal programs and services. While Rep. Lawler maintains that he will not support any cuts that would undermine programs like Medicare or Medicaid, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has found that the goals of the GOP plan will be impossible to achieve without severe cuts.
Whether in denial or simply unwilling to accept the cut-and-dried conclusion from the CBO, Rep. Lawler has continued to dance around the issue. When pressed last on whether his vote for the budget plan meant that he would support cuts to Medicaid in a final package, Lawler replied that it was a “stupid fucking question.”
Rep. Lawler voted to advance the Republican budget plan, which authorized a more than $5.3 trillion extension of tax cuts primarily benefiting the wealthy. | CREDIT: Empire State Voices
“Rep. Mike Lawler has voted twice to cut $880 billion out of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s programs—the vast majority of which will have to come from Medicaid,” said Joe Mayhew, Secretary-Treasurer for CWA 1103. “Today, hospitals receive less than a 70% reimbursement for Medicaid patients. Such severe cuts will surely lower that reimbursement rate even further, leading hospitals to cut staff and services and increase costs charged to private insurance. Rural hospitals that serve large populations of Medicaid recipients could even be forced to shut down entirely. Cuts to Medicaid are everyone's problem.”
“The people of the lower Hudson Valley deserve real answers from Rep. Lawler. As our economy is sinking, he voted to enable crippling cuts to Medicaid and Medicare under an extremist Republican budget that enacts tax cuts for the very rich while destroying the lives of everyday people,” said Shannon Powell, Co-Founder of Indivisible Westchester. “We deserve answers, not staged political events with giant portraits of the Congressman and threatened arrests of New Yorkers exercising their constitutional right to free speech. We will continue to hold Mike Lawler accountable.”
“Cuts to Medicaid are everyone's problem.” - Joe Mayhew, CWA 1103 | CREDIT: Empire State Voices
“Mike Lawler has voted to hurt our friends and neighbors,” said Mark Lieberman, Co-Chair of Yorktown Indivisible. “Instead of caring for the people, he’s voting to take away Medicaid insurance. He’s voting to take food out of the mouths of children and the disabled. And he’s voting—yes, he’s voting—to take away our voting rights. It’s impossible to understand this cruelty from a representative of the people.”
“Mike Lawler is more concerned with his media appearances and pleasing the President than addressing the very real concerns of his constituents and this country,” said Dan Stoller, Founder of Northern Westchester Indivisible. “When asked about Medicaid, he dances around the issue with discussions of fraud and eligibility. We know where he stands.”
To learn more about Empire State Voices, please reach out to press@empirestatevoices.org
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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.
