The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Nov. 1, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Republican Congressman Mike Lawler. He joins us today from New York. You are in this home stretch of campaigning in one of the most closely watched districts this cycle. Leader Jeffries has singled out your district as a top target for Democrats. Where do you see this headed?
REP. MIKE LAWLER: Well, I think we’re going to be victorious on Tuesday night, Margaret. I’ve done the work, over the last four years, between my staff and I, we’ve closed over 10,000 constituent cases, brought back over $140 million to the district, passed over two dozen bills, 17 of which have been signed into law. Ask AOC how many she’s had signed into law. The fact is, I show up, and my constituents know me. And unlike my opponent, who parachuted into this district from Virginia, I own a home here. I pay taxes. I’m raising my family here. And I think my constituents respect the fact that I’ve consistently been rated among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress. I’m the only sitting member of Congress endorsed by a member of the opposing party. Jared Golden endorsed my re-election just a little over a month ago, and I think people know that I’ve delivered for them, especially when it comes to the issue of affordability, delivering the largest tax cut in American history, including lifting the cap on salt and leading the housing bill, which will increase supply and bring down prices.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, as you just mentioned, affordability is a top issue for voters, no matter what party they are in. We are seeing the economy growing. We’re still seeing consumers spend, but for the last six months, we are seeing that wages are not keeping up with inflation. Republicans campaigned on bringing prices down. Why do you deserve re-election? Why does the party deserve trust when prices have only continued to climb?
REP. LAWLER: Well, as we saw under the prior administration, inflation cumulatively rose 21%. So the baseline price of everything went up. Obviously, with the war in the Middle East, it has caused volatility in the oil markets, which- which has resulted in a- in a spike in inflation. But as you just pointed out, we saw significant growth in Q3, 3.4%. Over a million private sector jobs have been created over the past year. We are seeing purchasing power rise, but there’s still work to do. And that’s why I have focused extensively on what we can do to bring down prices. Number one, we did deliver the largest tax cut. Number two, we did pass the largest housing bill in 36 years to increase supply and bring down prices and increase access to capital. Before the end of this Congress–
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president didn’t love that bill.
REP. LAWLER: –we will finalize a permitting- before the end of Congress, this Congress, we will finalize a permitting reform bill, which will increase domestic supply of energy, which directly impacts the prices of everything from manufacturing to transportation to groceries. And one of the problems in New York, Margaret, utilities are up 58% under Kathy Hochul because they shut down nuclear power, they ban natural gas, they blocked pipelines. We are working to rectify that. That will drive down energy prices significantly, which is critical if we’re going to bring down inflation and bring down costs.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Healthcare is one of the top three issues for voters. You are one of the Republicans who tried to secure a short-term extension of those Obamacare subsidies that expired at the end of the year. In this cycle, many Democrats are promising that if they win the majority, they will restore some of those lapsed subsidies. Do you support that? Would you work with Democrats to do that?
REP. LAWLER: Oh, absolutely. Look, I’ve consistently been rated among the most bipartisan members of Congress. My best friend in Congress is a Democrat, Josh Gottheimer. We led that effort to negotiate a bipartisan extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credit. Frankly, Margaret, it was Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer that rejected the bipartisan agreement. They wanted to go for a clean three-year extension with no reforms. The fact is, since the Affordable Care Act took effect, health insurance premiums are up 150% while insurance company profits are up over 2,000%. We need to fix the system.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
REP. LAWLER: I am fully committed to addressing the healthcare costs in this country. It’s the biggest driver of costs facing most Americans, and we need bipartisan solutions to actually deal with it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The OBBB, the Big Beautiful Bill, was projected to have increased the uninsured population in your state by about 860,000 people through 2034, so that tax bill also may have hurt that case. But let me ask you about something else–
REP. LAWLER: Well, respectfully, that’s just- that’s just not an accurate- that’s just not an accurate number at all. But moreover, New York spends 80% more on Medicaid than the average of the other 49 states. Even Kathy Hochul admits they have waste, fraud, and abuse in the system with the CDPAP program that went from $10 million to $11 billion in three years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, that’s the Health Research Group KFF. Let me ask about something else. Elon Musk’s Political Action Committee has put forward hundreds of thousands of dollars to support you, and your opponent, Cait Conley, has criticized you for your ties to Elon Musk. She says you’re refusing to legislate on artificial intelligence or “superintelligence” to protect Elon Musk. How do you respond to that allegation?
REP. LAWLER: Well, first of all, Cait Conley is the AI candidate for the AI industry. She’s the one being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by two AI companies that she won’t even tell the voters what she did to earn those contracts–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, what does Elon Musk expect for that?
REP. LAWLER: –secondarily, I’m leading on this issue- second, wait a minute. Well, first of all, it’s an outside group, so I’ve had no communication with anybody that’s spending in this race. Second of all, I’m the one leading on these issues with Josh Gottheimer, the Stop Rogue AI Act to set national standards with respect to these rogue agents and bots, and secondarily for the frontier models to require mandatory testing. Third, Cait Conley has violated federal election law by setting up a JFC with the House Super PAC, the House Democrat Super PAC, and she is spending out of that on campaign ads, millions of dollars. And lastly, Margaret, in the last week, a Democrat Super PAC popped up. They have not filed with the FEC in clear violation of election law, spending millions of dollars saying that I support amnesty for criminal illegal aliens. It is a straight-up lie–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Who is behind that?
REP. LAWLER: –they are trying to drive down Republican turnout. These are Democrats supporting this. They did this two years ago, and they’re doing it again. American Forge Group. This is a straight-up fraud perpetrated on the voters, like they’re doing in Alaska.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
REP. LAWLER: And frankly, the FBI and the Department of Justice have informed us that they are investigating it–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.
REP. LAWLER: –and it should be investigated.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Alright.
REP. LAWLER: They are violating election law, so people should be focused–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REP. LAWLER: –very clearly on what is actually happening in our elections.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, we did ask the Conley campaign about that, and they told CBS they had nothing to do with the mailers being sent out. But we will ask the Justice Department as well. Thank you, Congressman Lawler.
REP. LAWLER: And they didn’t condemn it either. Yep. Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will be watching your race, sir. Back in a moment.
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