{"id":91340,"date":"2026-07-16T12:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/revealed-trump-ally-hailed-as-an-anti-drunk-driving-hero-admits-he-was-arrested-for-dwi-years-ago\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:39:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:39:00","slug":"revealed-trump-ally-hailed-as-an-anti-drunk-driving-hero-admits-he-was-arrested-for-dwi-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/revealed-trump-ally-hailed-as-an-anti-drunk-driving-hero-admits-he-was-arrested-for-dwi-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"REVEALED: Trump ally hailed as an anti-drunk driving &#8216;hero&#8217; admits he was &#8216;arrested for DWI&#8217; years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>Congressman Mike Lawler, a top Trump ally who is locked in a critical reelection race in New York, has revealed that he was &#8216;arrested for DWI&#8217; in his younger days.<\/p>\n<p>Lawler, 39, disclosed the 2012 incident for the very first time on Wednesday in an <a class rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/newjersey.news12.com\/i-let-my-dad-down-rep-mike-lawler-opens-up-about-past-dwai-arrest-in-exclusive-interview\">interview<\/a>with local New York news outlet News12.<\/p>\n<p>He said that when he was 25 years old, he &#8216;went down to [New York] city, and proceeded to drink, and ultimately, you know, made a decision to drive home.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>He then failed a breathalyzer test before being arrested by local police.<\/p>\n<p>Lawler also added in the segment that it was &#8216;certainly not&#8217; his &#8216;proudest moment&#8217;, noting that he was deeply disappointed in himself for making that decision, and for letting down his father, a former recovering alcoholic who was sober for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>He also said that the incident came after he learned his father&#8217;s<a target=\"_self\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/news\/cancer\/index.html\" id=\"mol-fe7d9270-8099-11f1-89cb-a729a53c7845\">cancer<\/a>had spread to his brain.<\/p>\n<p><span>He went further in a<a rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1C5qRv97Rk\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\">Facebook post<\/a>explaining one of the &#8216;worst&#8217; decisions of his life, saying he &#8216;got behind the wheel after drinking and was arrested for DWI [Drinking While Intoxicated].&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I ended up getting in my car, and I drove home, from New York City to Rockland County. I was on the Palisades Parkway, I was driving impaired. I was pulled over by police and arrested,&#8217; Lawler shared with a group of high schoolers in a video that he posted to Facebook on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Congressman Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, speaks as he attends a town hall meeting in Mahopac, New York, on June 8, 2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Lawler noted in 2024 that he was proud to be a &#8216;legislative hero&#8217; of the anti-drunk driving advocacy groupMothers Against Drunk Driving<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The irony is that since coming to <a target=\"_self\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/news\/us-congress\/index.html\" id=\"mol-f369db90-8086-11f1-a4ff-eb3f01ad668a\" class>Congress<\/a>, Lawler has been a vocal advocate for ending drunk driving.<\/p>\n<p>In July of 2024, Lawler was given the&#8217;Legislative Hero Award&#8217; byMothers Against Drunk Driving. The Daily Mail reached out to MADD for comment and did not immediately receive a response.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Nothing is more important than the safety of our residents, and that will continue to be my highest priority,&#8217; Lawler noted in an X post that shows him posing with the award. Lawler is currently a father to two young daughters.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Lawler and his family at the White House Easter celebration earlier this year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-channel=\"news\" data-mol-fe-xpmodule-join-debate=\"{\"env\":{\"brand\":\"dailymail\",\"channel\":\"news\",\"geo\":\"us\",\"platform\":\"mol.web.desktop\",\"url\":\"\/news\/article-15980447\/mike-lawler-dwi-drunk-driving.html?ns_mchannel=rss&#038;ns_campaign=1490&#038;ito=1490\",\"environment\":\"production\",\"name\":\"mol-fe-xpmodule-join-debate-default@1\",\"version\":\"1.3.3\",\"xForwardedHost\":\"www.dailymail.com\",\"zkConfig\":{\"bundle-versions\":{\"default\":{\"bv\":\"18.5.1\",\"vbv\":\"7.18.0\",\"fesbv\":\"16.12.0\",\"feabv\":\"11.89.0\",\"abv\":\"13.7.0\",\"expire-after\":31536000,\"tag\":\"fe_desktop_default\"}},\"bundle-versions-mobile\":{\"default\":{\"bv\":\"12.6.0\",\"vbv\":\"7.18.0\",\"fesbv\":\"16.12.0\",\"feabv\":\"11.89.0\",\"abv\":\"13.7.0\",\"expire-after\":31536000,\"tag\":\"fe_mobile_default\"}},\"games-platypuzz-build-version\":\"15.0.15\"}},\"question\":\"Should past drunk driving offenses disqualify politicians from leading efforts against DUI?\"}\" data-reactroot>\n<p><span>Join the discussion<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Should past drunk driving offenses disqualify politicians from leading efforts against DUI?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a data-comment-cta-button=\"true\" data-open-comments=\"true\" target=\"_top\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/#comments\"><span>What&#8217;s your view?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This past January, Lawler championed the issue again, cosponsoring theDrunk Driving Prevention and Enforcement Act alongside Democrats Debbie Dingell and Laura Gillen.<\/p>\n<p>The bill would take &#8216;significant steps to prevent impaired driving and save lives&#8217; with technology and law enforcement resources.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Mail approached Gillen&#8217;s office for comment on whether or not she was aware of Lawler&#8217;s transgression, and if they ever came up for discussion during their work on the bill, and did not receive an immediate response.<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, Lawler and Dingell sent a joint letter to the Secretary of Transportation urging the &#8216;swift implementation&#8217; of the HALT Drunk Driving Law, which &#8216;requires new motor vehicles to be equipped with advanced anti-drunk driving technology that prevents a car from operating if the driver is illegally impaired.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>When asked for comment by the Daily Mail, Lawler sent a link to a video of his speech to a local high school on Wednesday, where he went into the story in more detail.<\/p>\n<p>In that video, he notes &#8216;throughout my time in the state assembly, and now in Congress, I have worked alongside organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and local advocates to promote roadway safety.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Lawler has also in the past championed deporting illegal immigrants who commit DUI&#8217;s, stating in an interview during his 2024 re-election campaign that one migrant who was charged with murder should have been &#8216;handed order to ICE&#8217; after &#8216;his arrest for drunk driving in Yonkers in 2018.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Lawler also called out his opponent, Mondaire Jones, for wanting to &#8216;prevent the deportation of anyone arrested for DWI [Driving While Intoxicated].<\/p>\n<p>In 2026, Lawler is running against Democratic challenger Cait Conley, an army veteran, who bested a field of primary opponents in a bitter fight last month.<\/p>\n<p>Trump campaigned with Lawler in May, when he praised Lawler&#8217;s bipartisan efforts, while Lawler voiced pride in his working relationship with the President.<\/p>\n<p>The two also spent time boasting about last year&#8217;s GOP tax bill that expanded the state and local tax (SALT) deduction to $40,000, a move Lawler championed.<\/p>\n<p>Per the Cook Political Report, Lawler&#8217;s seat is rated as a &#8216;toss-up.&#8217; He won his last race in 2024 with 52.1 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congressman Mike Lawler, a top Trump ally who is locked in a critical reelection race in New York, has revealed that he was &#8216;arrested for DWI&#8217; in his younger days. Lawler, 39, disclosed the 2012 incident for the very first time on Wednesday in an interviewwith local New York news outlet News12. He said that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-donald-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}