Lawler Leads 90+ Members of Congress to Urge Administration to Dismantle UNRWA Operations in the Middle East

Washington, D.C. - 5/26/26… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) led colleagues in sending a letter to the Trump Administration expressing serious concerns regarding the continued role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) across the Middle East and urging decisive action to dismantle the agency and transition its responsibilities to more credible and transparent partners.

UNRWA has long faced serious concerns over its ties to Hamas and its role in fostering radicalization among Palestinians for decades. In recent years, both Congress and President Trump have taken action to withhold U.S. funding from UNRWA. However, the organization continues to operate throughout the Middle East.

"Established in 1949 as a temporary relief agency, UNRWA operates across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, providing education, healthcare, and social services to millions of Palestinian refugees. However, rather than resolving the refugee crisis, UNRWA has perpetuated and expanded the problem through its unprecedented policy of conferring refugee status across generations - transforming what was once a finite humanitarian issue into a permanent and growing political challenge," wrote the lawmakers.

Ultimately, UNRWA has not been a force for stability but has instead perpetuated the refugee crisis and reinforced the conditions that have allowed terrorism to persist. The letter highlights the ongoing concerns surrounding UNRWA's regional operations and urges the President to continue efforts to dismantle the organization and transition its functions to more credible and trusted partners that are demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace.

The letter was cosigned by Reps. Alford, Amodei, Bacon, Barr, Bean, Biggs, Bilirakis, Brecheen, Cammack, Carey, Buddy Carter, Ciscomani, Cline, Clyde, Ellzey, Estes, Evans, Fallon, Fedorchak, Feenstra, Fine, Finstad, Fischbach, Fitzpatrick, Fleischmann, Foxx, Franklin, Garbarino, Gill, Craig Goldman, Gooden, Gottheimer, Griffith, Grothman, Hageman, Haridopolos, Harris, Harshbarger, Hern, Hill, Hudson, Issa, Jack, Jordan, Dave Joyce, Trent Kelly, Kim, LaLota, Langworthy, Letlow, Loudermilk, Luna, Mace, Mast, McCaul, McGuire, Messmer, Meuser, Carol Miller, Mary Miller, Max Miller, Miller-Meeks, Moolenaar, Barry Moore, Blake Moore, Tim Moore, Newhouse, Palmer, Patronis, Pfluger, Rogers, Rulli, Rutherford, Schmidt, Shreve, Adrian Smith, Chris Smith, Stauber, Stefanik, Steil, Steube, Strong, Tenney, Tiffany, Van Drew, Van Epps, Wagner, Walberg, Weber, Webster, Joe Wilson, and Zinke.

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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