Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) faced angry attendees at his town hall in the Hudson Valley on Sunday. About 600 constituents bombarded him with questions and jeers while more protested outside, and multiple attendees were asked to leave or forcibly removed from the venue. Lawler, one of many Republicans to be met with hostile town hall crowds as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have dismantled the federal government, represents a swing district that will be contested in 2026.
Republican lawmakers across the country have been met with jeers and heckling at public events since Trump took office. In March, party leadership leadership told House representatives to avoid in-person town halls entirely. Just over a month later, a man was tased at a highly contentious town hall hosted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) last month.
Republicans are under scrutiny as polling has shown that Trump is increasingly unpopular, as are Musk’s actions as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Two recent polls found that Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to below 40 percent, and some conservatives are starting to worry about the 2026 midterms.
Attendees at the Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers, New York, asked Lawler about massive cuts to the federal government carried out by Trump and Musk, as well the president’s tariff and immigration policies. Lawler said he planned to meet with DOGE on Monday, to which the audience jeered.
“Bipartisan sounds nice, but meaningful bipartisanship is in votes taken, not in the fig-leaf of co-sponsored bills,” Cortlandt Manor resident David Weinberger said at the event. “Now is your time to stand up to the authoritarian Trump regime.”
“Bipartisanship is a two-way street,” Lawler said. “It’s not just Republicans acquiescing Democrats. There has to be a give-and-take on these issues.”
Emily Feiner of Nyack was forcibly removed by New York State Police. “I’m not leaving,” she said. “You are taking on an old Jewish woman.”
A police officer lifted her out of her seat by her armpits. She held up peace signs as two police officers carried her away. The audience chanted “Let her stay!” and “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and stood up and booed as she was removed.
“The attendee was asked to leave after repeatedly engaging in abusive and combative behavior with staff, and disrupting nearby attendees,” Lawler spokesperson Ciro Riccardi told The Hill. “She was escorted from the auditorium when she continually refused to comply with New York State Troopers.”
“I got called on. I asked a question. The question was: ‘What was his red line? What would it take in terms of unconstitutional actions that the Trump administration was doing for him to finally exercise his oversight role and call for an end?’” Feiner told Salon. “And he didn’t answer my question. He talked about appropriations. So I was frustrated, and I did call out, ‘Answer my question, answer my question.’ And then the next person, he didn’t answer their question either.”
Jennifer Cabrera, chair of the Westchester-Putnam Working Families Party, filmed Feiner’s removal. She was also asked to leave, according to the Working Families Party. Video shows a second person being carried out as well.
Unsurprisingly, the town hall did not garner constituents’ support. “I have no hopes for this guy,” retiree Jeanette Spoor said of Lawler, according to the Associated Press. She had wanted to ask the lawmaker about the future of Social Security and Medicaid but had not had the chance to.
About 80 people, led by Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and Christine Robbins, chair of the Somers Democratic Party, protested outside of the school, holding up signs that read “Lawler Lies, Democracy Dies” and “A Trumpster Fire.”
Lawler was met with a disruptive crowd of about 700 people in late April in Clarkstown, New York. That time, constituents laughed at him when he said the country is “strong” and “united,” and several people were reportedly forced to leave.
Lawler has not decided whether he will run again next year. Republican leaders have been trying to convince him not to run for governor, NBC News reported, because they want him to try to hold on to his swing district.
“I would prefer he not run for governor,” Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told NBC News. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is also considering running for governor.
“As I have said throughout this process, I will make my decision as to whether to run for governor in June,” Lawler told NBC News. “That decision, which will be based on a number of factors and considerations, will be mine alone to make and will not be impacted by the decisions or desires of any of my colleagues.”
Trump is well aware that Republicans are having a hard time at town halls because of his policies. He posted on Truth Social that “disruptors” at these events should be removed. “These Great Patriot Politicians should not treat them nicely. Have them immediately ejected from the room – They are disruptors and troublemakers,” the president wrote.
