Democrats are eager to take back Republican Rep. Mike Lawler's New York district: A high-profile challenger and a visit by President Joe Biden to the district tomorrow already hint at the ferocity of Lawler's reelection.
Attempting to meet the challenge head-on, the GOP congressman has accepted the White House's invitation to attend Wednesday's campaign-style rally.
Biden hopes to galvanize opposition to the GOP's debt limit proposal. Lawler told the media he accepted the invitation because the president is “coming to my district, specifically to talk about the most pressing issue.”
He's simultaneously expressing frustration and disappointment with the political posturing by Biden and the Democrats.
NBC News has more on Biden's pressure campaign against vulnerable Republicans:
Biden's planned campaign-style trip to suburban New York on Wednesday — a day after he meets with congressional leaders — is the latest move in a White House strategy to pressure House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in the spending battle in the soft underbelly of his fragile majority: GOP House members in competitive districts Biden carried in November.
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Lawler joined Republicans last month in rallying behind his party's debt package, the McCarthy bill dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt limit, curb spending and repeal key pieces of Biden's agenda.
“House Republicans that brand themselves as moderate lined up with the most extreme MAGA members on this vote, and we are making sure their constituents are aware of the true nature of their priorities,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said. “It's up to them whether they will continue to side with MAGA extremists or come together to ensure that the country avoids default.”
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“My constituents agree that we cannot continue to sustain spending at these levels. It's part of the reason that I won,” Lawler said in a phone interview Saturday. “I talked about the need to rein in reckless spending and to reverse much of what Joe Biden did.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn't say if Biden will speak to Lawler when asked by reporters at Tuesday's press briefing.
Lawler defeated then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney by less than one percentage point last year. Maloney also served as the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a prominent House leadership position.
His defeat marked the first time in 42 years that a campaign chair for either party lost their seat.
However, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the Hudson Valley seat by double digits in 2020, making it a top target for Democrats in 2024.
Holding every seat next year will be especially important for Speaker McCarthy, as Republicans only have a five-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
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