GOP Rebel Who Opposes ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Fires Back at Trump on Fox News: ‘Not Going to Sacrifice My Constituents’
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) fired back after President Donald Trump took a shot at him during a House GOP conference meeting Trump joined on Tuesday, telling Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that he wasn’t going to “sacrifice” his constituents.
On Tuesday morning, Trump visited Capitol Hill in an effort to convince GOP holdouts — including Lawler and other blue state Republicans fighting for a higher cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction — to vote in favor of his “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
During his meeting with the GOP conference, Trump reportedly told the cohort to get in line, and even singled out Lawler to tell him, “I know your district better than you do, if you lose because of SALT you were going to lose anyway..”
MacCallum confronted Lawler over Trump’s comments — and a critical Wall Street Journal editorial — during an interview on Tuesday afternoon, asking him what he would say to both Trump and the Journal.
“Well, respectfully to the president, I’ve won three times in two-to-one Democratic districts because I know what the issues are impacting my district,” began Lawler before MacCallum interjected to confirm, “Did he say that to you, Congressman? Is that an accurate quote?”
“It is. And here’s the truth” I’m one of only three Republicans that have won in a district that Kamala Harris won. So the fact is I know my district very well and there’s a reason why I’ve been successful,” confirmed Lawler before continuing:
I respect the president. I know how important it is to pass this bill. Allowing the tax cuts to expire would be catastrophic. It would be the single largest tax increase in American history. But I’m not going to sacrifice my constituents, and throw them under the bus in a bad faith negotiation, which is what this has been by leadership and Jason Smith. So, I’m sitting in the speaker’s office. I just left those negotiations that have restarted since this morning to come talk to you, and I’ll be going back right after we finish this. But the fact is we need to come to an agreement. We need to provide real and lasting tax relief. And that’s what I’m fighting for for my constituents. So I respect the president, respect The Wall Street Journal, but I’ll respectfully disagree.
And the fact is that in a district like mine, it is not the wealthy that I’m talking about. I’m talk about the cop and the teacher who are struggling under the crushing weight of the highest tax burden in America, and in New York. We can all agree Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America. Nobody disputes that. We can all agree New York’s cost of living is exorbitant. Nobody disputes that. But I’m not gonna sell out my constituents at the expense of getting a fair tax deal.
Watch above via Fox News.
