Rep. Mike Lawler absolutely torched New York Governor Kathy Hochul during a tense House Oversight Committee, calling out the woke governor for making New York taxpayers foot the bill for free healthcare for illegal aliens, an accusation that the governor was unable to deny, instead trying to dodge questions from the GOP congressman.
For context, on June 12, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul testified alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker during a House Oversight Committee hearing that focused on the sanctuary status of the governors’ respective states. During the hearing, Republican Representative Mike Lawler (NY) called out his state’s governor for her lax policies on illegal immigrants, specifically regarding free healthcare.
During the hearing, Rep. Lawler began by telling the governor, “Governor Hochul, under your watch, New York has spent billions of dollars of taxpayer money providing free housing, clothing, food, education, and health care to illegal immigrants.” He continued, “Meanwhile, you’re charging hard-working New Yorkers $2,500 annually just for the privilege of driving to work.”
Continuing, the congressman built on his previous point, saying, “Speaking of driving, when you ran for Congress, did you oppose giving driver’s licenses to illegals? Yes or no?” The governor responded, “No. That was previous to that. It was in 2020…22.” Rep. Lawler shot back, “You had a commercial running for Congress touting your position, the position about driver’s licenses.”
Next, the congressman asked Gov. Hochul another straightforward question: “Did you oppose giving driver’s licenses to illegals when you were running for Congress? Yes or no?” The governor replied, “At the time I did, yes, and I’ll tell you, I had the chance to go out and see a very rural…” The congressman cut the governor off, saying, “Governor, yes or no, do you support illegal immigrants getting taxpayer funding?”
As the tension built, Rep. Lawler implored the governor to “please answer the question.” She replied, “Sure, if there’ll ever be a real question.” The congressman shot back, “You were asked a question…the fact is, you did support giving illegals driver’s licenses.” He continued, “Governor, yes or no, do you support illegal immigrants getting taxpayer-funded health care? Yes or no?”
Continuing to dodge the congressman’s questions, Gov. Hochul said, “We provide health care to people in need, including moms with new babies.” Rep. Lawler, growing impatient, responded, “Do you support giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded health care? Yes or no?” The governor stammered, “We support giving money…support…” Rep. Lawler cut her off, saying, “The answer is yes. You expanded health care access in 2024 under Medicaid.”
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Attempting to defend herself once again, the governor said that she had supported taxpayer-funded health care for “senior citizens, for babies,” adding, “I would do it all over again.” Furthermore, Gov. Hochul later said that her administration was following state laws and cooperating “in all criminal cases” regarding illegal immigrants, but Rep. Lawler pushed back, saying, “You’re not doing that. That’s the reality, governor.”
Watch the tense exchange:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video