Rep. Mike Lawler is set to hold the last in a series of public forums that have spanned his district since April and featured waves of sharp questions from riled constituents.
Lawler’s fourth town hall is in Dutchess County — at John Jay Senior High School in Hopewell Junction on June 28. The second-term Republican pledged to hold gatherings in each of the four counties in New York’s 17th Congressional District and already had sessions in the other three: Rockland, Westchester and Putnam.
The Dutchess forum begins at 6 p.m. and is open to residents of the 17th district. Those who want to attend must register in advance at NY17townhall.com, as long as seating is available.
Previous sessions have drawn large, rowdy crowds and shown the depth of Democratic anger over the opening months of the second Trump administration and funding cuts being planned by the Republican-controlled Congress. Lawler has spelled out his positions on proposed Medicaid changes, deportations and more, often to jeers from the audience though also to applause from supporters who turned out.
Lawler held the forums in spite of pleas from GOP leaders for members to forgo in-person gatherings and stick to formats they can more easily control, such as Facebook live or telephone town halls. They urged that step after Republican lawmakers faced a spate of hostile town halls that fueled viral videos. Leaders blamed Democratic activists for those run-ins.
Lawler holds a critical swing seat in Congress that has attracted a big field of seven Democratic contenders for the 2026 race. He has been weighing a run for governor instead of re-election to the House and is expected to announce his decision this month.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rep. Mike Lawler to hold final town hall at John Jay High School in Hopewell Junction
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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