Rep. Mike Lawler on Sunday denounced partisan redistricting, warning that gerrymandering has “broken” Congress and calling for sweeping reforms, including a nationwide ban on mid-decade map changes and the imposition of term limits for members of Congress.
“I think gerrymandering is fundamentally wrong, and it is at the heart of why Congress has been broken for so many years,” the New York Republican told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
He noted that while more than 100 House districts were competitive three decades ago, just 35 seats were decided by five points or less in the last election cycle. “Roughly 400 members are not in competitive districts, focused primarily on primaries and not general elections,” the congressman said.
Lawler accused New York Democrats of repeatedly manipulating congressional maps, saying they pushed a mid-decade redistricting effort last year at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ direction after earlier maps were struck down in 2022 for violating the state constitution.
While acknowledging that both parties engage in gerrymandering, Lawler said he will fight for reform legislation to impose a national ban.
He also called for term limits for members of Congress, citing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decades in elected office as emblematic of entrenched political power. “It’s time to go,” Lawler said. “You need overall reform.”
The congressman then turned to the issue of crime, a flashpoint in New York politics. President Donald Trump has signaled interest in deploying National Guard troops to cities such as New York to address violent crime, a move that has prompted debate over the role of federal forces in local law enforcement.
Lawler argued that New York Democrats have failed to curb crime, pointing to low prosecution rates for gun offenses in the city.
“Eighty percent of gun crimes do not result in a conviction or prosecution,” he said, adding that offenders are often released despite using firearms in the commission of crimes. He expressed openness to federal support, saying he wanted “all of the above,” including FBI, ATF, DEA, and National Guard involvement, to combat gun violence.
Lawler highlighted his legislative work on firearms, noting he led the reauthorization of the Undetectable Firearms Act in 2023, which requires all commercially available guns to contain at least 3.7 ounces of metal to prevent them from evading security detectors.
The interview concluded with a discussion of semiconductor policy. While skeptical of government ownership stakes in private companies, Lawler acknowledged the national security rationale behind the Trump administration’s decision to purchase a 10 percent stake in Intel as part of the CHIPS Act.
“We want to be in control of the manufacturing of semiconductors, and that’s critical for our foreign policy,” he said.
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