Mayorkas Impeachment Failure Connects Rep. Lawler with MAGA Extremists

This past Tuesday House Republicans sent their baseless articles of impeachment for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate.

Yesterday, the Senate quickly dismissed the two charges against him, claiming they were “unconstitutional,” killing House Republicans’ months-long clown show before it could even go to a trial.

In the post-Trump era of American politics, we know that Republican House leadership is dominated by MAGA extremism. But House Republicans representing New York’s swing districts like our own know they can only go so far without alienating their constituents – especially Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a district won by President Biden by 10 percentage points in 2020.

Lawler assumes the role of level-headed moderate here at home, but he consistently acts in lockstep with fringe members of the MAGA caucus. Lawler enthusiastically supported Mike Johnson–the most far-right House Speaker in recent history–and voted for impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas without a shred of evidence of wrongdoing by him.

Of course, when the actions of loyal House Republican Lawler threaten the political fortunes of swing-district candidate Lawler, the Congressman quickly moves to distance himself from his MAGA colleagues. Months after going along with a baseless impeachment process against President Biden, Lawler ran to MSNBC to solemnly state that he “has yet to see any evidence that would warrant the rise to impeachment.” It’s no coincidence that this reversal would come after months of data showing the American public’s lack of support or enthusiasm for impeaching the President.

As this apparently all-consuming battle between the two Lawlers plays out in the halls of Congress and on cable news, those who live here in his district are left to wonder if our representative has any time for us.

Rather than supporting the impeachment of the Homeland Security Secretary–which we now know was an utter waste of time and taxpayer dollars–what if Lawler had urged his far-right caucus to actually do something about immigration by working with Democrats on the bipartisan border bill that passed the Senate? Rather than telling CNN he doesn’t support a national abortion ban, what if Lawler showed his constituents that his words mean something by refusing to support a speaker who called abortion an “American holocaust?”

As a voter in Rep. Lawler’s district, it’s frustrating to watch my representative play both sides of seemingly every issue in an attempt to salvage both his re-election prospects and his good standing among an increasingly extremist House Republican caucus. This endless triangulation has resulted in a first term for Lawler that is heavy on press clips, and embarrassingly light on legislative accomplishments.

Rep. Mike Lawler was elected to Congress to represent the people of NY-17 and make our lives better. We need a representative who will fight for a strong economy, sensible healthcare policies, affordable housing, and rational immigration policy. Instead, our Congressman wastes taxpayer money on political stunts and endless TV appearances.

If Mike Lawler were a true bipartisan, moderate legislator who worked across the aisle to get things done for his constituents, he would be an effective member of Congress and a formidable candidate for re-election.

But Mike Lawler isn’t a moderate. He just plays one on TV.