Lawler, New York GOP Delegation Invites Governor Hochul to Washington for Direct Policy Discussion

Washington, D.C. - 2/24/26… Yesterday, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) and members of the New York Republican Congressional Delegation sent a letter to Kathy Hochul inviting her to Washington, D.C., for a direct, in-person meeting to address the serious challenges facing New York and to improve coordination between Albany and the state's federal representatives.

The letter came in response to recent public claims by the Governor's office that no request had been made to meet directly with members of the delegation. In their correspondence, the members noted that a prior written invitation was sent in February 2024 and went unanswered.

"Since you last met with us in February 2023, New York has continued its downward spiral under your failed leadership. In fact, our state has faced one crisis after the next, and in many cases, stronger coordination between Albany and Washington could have mitigated the damage. Instead, New Yorkers have been left to shoulder the consequences of continued mismanagement and a lack of effective collaboration at the highest levels of government," wrote the lawmakers.

The delegation requested a substantive discussion on key issues affecting New Yorkers, including healthcare, energy, housing, transportation, public safety, immigration enforcement, state spending, and congressional redistricting.

"[w]e urge you to schedule travel to Washington, D.C. as soon as possible to meet with the New York Republican congressional delegation. As the only New Yorkers working in the majority in Washington, we have a real opportunity to affect policy change… Placing your trust and our state's needs in Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries has been wasted energy and effort. Time and again, the issues most critical to our state have gone unresolved, while opportunities to secure real progress have been missed. Continued reliance on ineffective leadership is not a strategy, and New Yorkers deserve far better," concluded the lawmakers.

The letter was cosigned by Reps. Nick LaLota (NY-01), Nick A. Langworthy (NY-23), Andrew R. Garbarino (NY-02), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), and Elise Stefanik (NY-21). The full letter can be found HERE. Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.


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