MAHOPAC — Rep. Mike Lawler faced another boisterous crowd at his latest town hall as fired-up residents pressed him on the Iran war that he supports and vented fury at the Trump administration.
The Rockland County Republican held the stage at Mahopac High School for about 90 minutes on Sunday, April 12, answering questions and delivering retorts to a largely hostile audience. As at his previous sessions, a steady din of jeers and shouts washed over his responses and nearly drowned him out at times — mixed with applause and cheers from his supporters after some responses.
Lawler, doing his third town hall of the year and seventh since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, seemed unfazed by the latest show of unrest. He gripped a microphone and paced with one hand in his jeans pocket, forcefully defending his positions and lecturing the crowd in what has become familiar sparring at his public forums.
“We’re in a high school auditorium, and high school students act a lot better than you are acting,” Lawler said early on as the heckling set in. “Actually act like an adult, and stop.”
He noted in his defense at one point that he was one of a small number of Congress members who are even holding town hall gatherings in this rancorous time.
What Mike Lawler said about Iran war at Westchester town hall
Lawler was questioned several times about the Iran war, including his voting against a war powers resolution that would have enabled Congress to assert its authority over the war Trump and Israel started on Feb. 28. He explained his ardent support for attacking Iran and called the war powers vote premature, arguing the president has legal authority to wage military conflict for up to 90 days before Congress may step in.
“Congress has not declared war since World War II,” he pointed out.
“Is that good?” an audience member demanded in response.
Lawler spoke about the threat Iran has long posed in the Middle East and applauded Trump for taking action, saying “we need to do everything we can to ensure that this regime never gets a nuclear weapon.”
The audience member who spoke next was having none of it.
“You say that when you disagree with Trump, you will tell him so, but that’s not enough,” the man said, loud cheers erupting as he spoke. “You must impeach. He’s a fraud, he’s corrupt, he’s an incompetent psychopath. The Republican Party and you are enabling him. You’re all cowards, and you’re spineless.”
The man continued heaping condemnation on Trump until security guards took the microphone from him and escorted him out of the auditorium.
Lawler is serving his second term as the 17th District representative and is running for a third term this fall. Five Democrats are running in a June 23 primary to challenge him for a critical House seat that could go either way and will help decide which party controls the House for Trump’s last two years.
Lawler explains his approach to Trump
Lawler insisted he has stood up to the Trump administration, pulling out papers at one point to read aloud from a list he compiled of issues on which he has disagreed with or counteracted administration actions. They included opposing Trump’s cancellation of temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants, or intervening to free constituents wrongly detained in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
He also defended his ability to work with Democrats ad challenged the audience to consider opposing views in the same way.
“If you actually want to build consensus, you have to work across the aisle,” Lawler said. “It means you have to actually engage with people who disagree with you. I do it every day. My best friend in Congress is a Democrat.”
“I work with Democrats every single day in Congress to address issues,” he added. “But if you guys are unwilling to actually engage with the other side, if you’re unwilling to engage with the administration, you’re never going to get anywhere. That’s the reality.”
Lawler plans to hold his fourth town hall of the year in Dutchess County but hasn’t announced a date yet. As he did last year, he’s holding one in each of the four counties partly or entirely in New York’s 17th Congressional District: Rockland, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mike Lawler spars with crowd at rowdy town hall focused on Iran, Trump
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
