Michael Lawler
Republican Representative of New York's 17th district
Representative
New York, district 17
January 3, 2023 - January 3, 2025
Representative
New York, district 17
January 3, 2025 - January 3, 2027
2
Congresses Served
2
House Terms
September 9, 1986 (38 years old)
Birthday
- Serving as the U.S. representative for New York’s 17th congressional district since 2023
- Served as a Republican member of the New York State Assembly from 2021 to 2022
- Ranked as the 4th most bipartisan member of Congress in 2024 by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy Bipartisan Index
- Native of Rockland County, graduated as valedictorian from Manhattan College with a BS in accounting and finance
- Of Irish and Italian descent
- Worked in political communications, as an advisor in the Westchester County Executive’s Office, and as executive director of the New York State Republican Party before entering politics
- Defeated a Democratic incumbent to win his state assembly seat in 2020
- Won the 2022 general election for the U.S. House in a major upset
- Called for the resignation of Representative George Santos due to “embarrassing and unbecoming” conduct
- Voted for Kevin McCarthy in the 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
- Opposed the Parents’ Bill of Rights due to an amendment he felt “went too far”
- Voted in favor of censuring Rep. Adam Schiff and introduced a bill to prohibit ranked-choice voting in Washington, D.C.
- Initially banned television news cameras from his town hall meetings, a policy he rescinded in early 2024
- Member of the Republican Main Street Partnership
- Described as an avowed moderate by Politico
- Personally opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk, but opposes a federal ban on abortion
- Opposed congestion pricing in Manhattan, calling it an “outrageous cash grab”
- Lives in Pearl River with his wife, Doina, and their daughter; identifies as Catholic