He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Manhattan College in 2009 and was named valedictorian of his graduating class.[1][2]
The New York Times said Lawler is "openly entertaining a bid for governor in 2026" while running for re-election to Congress.[9]
On November 5, 2024, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in the 17th Congressional district of New York, besting his opponent, Mondaire Jones by approximately 7 percentage points.[10]
Tenure
On January 4, 2023, Lawler called then-newly sworn Representative George Santos's conduct "embarrassing and unbecoming" and "certainly a distraction".[11] On January 12, he called for Santos to resign.[12]
Lawler voted for Kevin McCarthy in the 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election. McCarthy was unable to win the speakership on the first 14 ballots. Lawler said of the matter, "It's time for everybody to unify. It's time for everybody to move forward because the reality is the American people didn't elect us to fight over rules."[13]
On January 9, Lawler voted in favor of the House rules package.[14] Afterward, he gave his first House speech, in favor of a bill that would defund the IRS of the money allocated in the Inflation Reduction Act.[15]
Lawler was one of five Republicans to vote against the Parents' Bill of Rights in March 2023, and the only Republican not part of the Freedom Caucus to vote against it.[16] He co-sponsored the bill, but said he decided not to vote for it after an unspecified amendment "went too far".[17]
On June 21, Lawler voted with 212 other House Republicans in favor of the censure of Rep. Adam Schiff.[18][19]
For much of 2023, Lawler had a policy of banning television news cameras from his town hall meetings; he rescinded the ban in early 2024.[21][22]
On October 3, 2024, The New York Times discovered resurfaced photos of Lawler wearing a Michael Jackson costume that included blackface in 2006 at Manhattan College at a Halloween party. In response, Lawler stated that his costume was intended to be “truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s kitchen. The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind."[23] It was also reported that in 2005, J. Randy Taraborrelli, a Michael Jackson biographer who helped get Lawler into the courtroom for Jackson's trial, recalled that Lawler, then a senior in high school and "young fan" of Jackson had been “so disgusted” by testimony against Jackson “that he couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath.” Lawler was later removed from the courtroom.”[23]
Lawler opposes a federal ban on abortion. He is pro-life except in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk.[29]
Congestion pricing
In 2023, Lawler opposed a plan by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to enact congestion pricing in Manhattan, New York City, one of the most traffic congested areas of the world.[30] The plan would charge most cars $15 per day to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street. Lawler said that the congestion pricing plan was not intended to reduce congestion, but was instead an "outrageous cash grab."[31][32]
