Former New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D) this weekend amplified a Washington Post report about the EPA’s plan to reverse the Biden administration’s ban on “forever chemicals” in drinking water. (The EPA, led by former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin, said it’s rescinding and reconsidering the standards for four of them.)
With a link to the report, Biaggi added on social media: “NEW YORK!! Traitor MICHAEL LAWLER ensured that your water will kill you. Let’s thank sociopath @lawler4ny for his unwavering service.”
In the video below, Biaggi claimed that Lawler pretends to be “the good guy” and do bipartisan work, but says that the Congressman acts differently behind closed doors. Biaggi said, speaking of Lawler, that “when you pretend to be someone that you’re not, that’s the definition of a sociopath.”
— Alessandra Biaggi (@Biaggi4NY) August 2, 2025
Lawler replied to Biaggi: “Alessandra — calling me a traitor and a sociopath? Really? In any event, sorry that the facts don’t comport with your opinions…”
Lawler provided a link to a congressional letter to the EPA voicing concern about the agency’s reconsideration of the April 2024 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which he signed with House Republicans and Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and Ritchie Torres (NY), among others.
Lawler, who is no longer considering a run for governor in 2026 and is running for re-election to keep his congressional seat, replied to Biaggi: “Please run against me. Please.”
Please run against me. Please. https://t.co/EJP2f07Aot
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) August 2, 2025
Note: In 2022, Biaggi ran for Congress in New York’s 17th congressional district, where she was defeated by incumbent Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in the Democratic primary.
So far, six candidates have entered the 2026 Democratic primary in Lawler’s 17th Congressional District. Lawler’s campaign spokesman Chris Russell referred to the group of Democrats as an “increasingly crowded clown car of candidates.”
The Democratic candidates include Effie Phillips-Staley, a trustee for the village of Tarrytown, Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator and former member of the Nyack Board of Education, and John Sullivan, a former FBI intelligence analyst.