A new report from three House committees finds that ActBlue’s “passport verification” only counted characters and that supervisors told fraud analysts to give donors flagged as foreign “the benefit of the doubt.” Conley let this happen on her watch, still features ActBlue as the main donate button on her campaign website, and has not said a word about the findings.

Pearl River, NY — September 21, 2026 —  On September 16, the House Committees on Administration, the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform released an interim staff report concluding that ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s dominant fundraising platform, “maintains unserious fraud-prevention practices that allow illegal foreign donations in U.S. elections.”

The report is built on ActBlue’s own internal documents that show, according to the committees, the “passport verification” feature ActBlue described to Congress as a safeguard against foreign money “only ensures that the entered passport number contains a certain number of characters,” and the company’s records state that it does “not verify the [passport number] information in any other way . . . [or] check the information provided against a government database.” Employees could also enter a placeholder, “ACTBLUEXX,” that skipped verification for a donor going forward.

Internal review logs covering October 2022 through October 2024 show supervisors instructing fraud analysts to “give the donor the benefit of the doubt.” In one entry, a donor with “a few red flags, such as IP/billing mismatch and a concerning IP provider name, a foreign credit card, an odd email domain,” and a browser fingerprint connected to previously rejected users was to be accepted because ActBlue “can’t say for sure that this is fraud.” The committees also found that ActBlue weakened its fraud-prevention standards twice during 2024. The New York Times reported in April that ActBlue’s own outside counsel, former Biden White House Counsel Dana Remus, warned in memos that the platform’s acceptance of illegal foreign contributions appeared to be “knowing and willful” and that its CEO may have misled Congress.

Cait Conley spent that same election year as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, supposedly leading the agency’s election security work. And in September 2024, she told reporters that “election security is national security” and cited the intelligence community’s warnings about Russia, China, and Iran.

Today the primary donate button on Conley’s campaign website sends supporters to ActBlue. In the four days since the report was released, Conley has said nothing.

“Cait Conley likes to brag about how she led election security for the federal government in 2024. House investigators have now published internal logs showing that, during that same election, the platform that now processes her donations approved contributions flagged for foreign credit cards and foreign IP addresses,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “Four days after this bombshell report, she has not said one word about it, and the ActBlue button is still prominently featured as the donation option on her website.”

Cait Conley owes Hudson Valley voters direct answers:

1. During her time leading election security work at CISA, were illicit foreign donations through online fundraising platforms ever raised with her or her team, and if so, what was done?
2. Will she stop raising money through ActBlue until the platform verifies donor eligibility against something more than a character count?
3. Will she review the contributions her campaign has received through ActBlue for the red flags the report identifies, and refund any that cannot be confirmed as coming from U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents?
4. Will she call on ActBlue’s CEO to produce every document the committees have requested?

“‘Mike Lawler and Cait Conley agree on something – that election security is national security. But on Cait Conley’s watch, it appears illegal foreign money flowed into American campaigns – an election security problem by any definition,” Riccardi concluded. “Cait should have done something before to stop it, but at least she can take one positive action today: she can stop taking money through ActBlue until it can show its donors are who they say they are. If she won’t, voters in NY-17 can fairly ask whether election security matters to her, or it’s just another canned line for her stump speech.”
 

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Lawler calls their bipartisan working relationship “a model for what Congress should be”

Pearl River, NY — September 21, 2026 —  Congressman Mike Lawler today welcomed the “incredibly rare” endorsement of Democratic Congressman Jared Golden of Maine, and said their relationship – built on bipartisan cooperation, moderation, and putting people before party – is a model of how Congress should operate.

Rep. Lawler and Rep. Golden, who represents Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, have worked together on several bipartisan initiatives during their time together in Congress — including protecting collective bargaining rights for federal workers as part of the “Protect America’s Workforce Act”, as well as defending Northeast fishing communities from burdensome federal regulations via the recently passed “Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act.”.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to accept the endorsement of my friend, Democratic Congressman Jared Golden,” said Rep. Lawler, who has rolled out several cross-party endorsements from Hudson Valley Democrats in recent weeks.  “While we are from different parties and different states, Jared and I have worked during our time together in the House to find common ground on issues that matter both to us and our constituents. We share a firm belief that what’s best for the people should come before one’s party, and that if more members on both sides of the aisle took that approach more often, the country would be better off for it.”

Lawler and Golden are both widely recognized as two of the most bipartisan Members of Congress; both willing to take positions at odds with their own party’s leadership and leverage their independence in a closely divided House to get things done for their constituents.

Continued Rep. Lawler: “As I’ve said many times, I do my best to abide by the sage advice of former Democratic New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who famously said: ‘If you agree with me on nine out of twelve issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on twelve out of twelve issues, see a psychiatrist.’  In a nutshell, that is how both Jared and I approach our jobs in Congress and our relationship with each other. He’s from Maine and I am from New York. We are never going to see eye-to-eye on every issue, and that’s ok, but we share a commitment to being serious and deliberate about finding common ground and getting things accomplished.”

“My opponent’s entire campaign message is built on a blatant lie, which is the bogus claim that I vote with my party 100% of the time,” added Rep. Lawler.  “Not only is that attack inconsistent with the facts, but it’s rendered even more absurd and unserious when I earn endorsements like this one, from a principled, moderate Democrat like Jared Golden who knows that is not remotely true.  Sadly, Cait Conley doesn’t know anything about bipartisanship.  She is running as a paint-by-numbers, partisan rubberstamp who agrees with Kathy Hochul’s dangerous Sanctuary State policies, doesn’t have the courage to disavow Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Socialists, and who just last week promised to drag the country into two more years of gridlock by coming out in favor of impeaching the President and other members of his Administration if she is elected.  The Hudson Valley deserves better.”

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By Congressman Jared Golden
USA Today

I spent eight years in Congress, and I won’t pretend they were easy ones. When I announced last fall that I would not seek reelection, I wrote about the incivility and plain nastiness that are now common in our politics, and about a Congress that too often rewards ego and division over patience and determination. I stand by all of it. But there is another side to the story, and before I leave office I want to tell it.

This is how I’ve worked well with Rep. Mike Lawler

It starts with lobster. For decades, federal regulators have piled rules onto Maine’s lobstermen in the name of protecting the North Atlantic right whale. Our fishermen did their part and then some. They replaced 27,000 miles of floating groundline with sinking line. They cut the number of ropes in the water and rigged their gear with breakaway links built to give way rather than entangle a whale. Nobody has a bigger stake in a healthy fishery than the families whose livelihoods depend on it.

Then in 2021, the government issued a new round of restrictions built on worst-case assumptions instead of real data. A federal appeals court unanimously vacated those restrictions. Congress stepped in the next year with a six-year pause on new regulations and funding for better science. But the pause expires at the end of 2028, and the research it paid for still has not been fully worked into the government’s models. This year, I introduced the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act to extend the pause through 2035 and to keep backing new gear technology, so that any new rules rest on the best available science rather than bureaucratic guesswork.

It is worth knowing who is leading that bill with me: Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York’s Hudson Valley. There is not a single lobster boat in his district. He got no votes in this and no headlines back home. He signed on because a historic American industry, thousands of fishing families, and the principle that federal rules should be built on facts were all on the line. And he understands that in every community, not just in Maine, mom-and-pop shops have been around for generations, and their livelihoods make up the very foundation of our communities.

In July, our bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee with votes from both parties. And it just passed on the House floor with bipartisan support. That is how Congress is supposed to work: members of different parties set aside their disagreements, find a problem that matters to the country and fix it.

And it was not a one-off. Twice more in the past two years, when something needed doing and party lines stood in the way, I found Lawler across the aisle. When the Trump Administration took away collective bargaining for federal employees, I introduced a bill restoring their rights. Lawler didn’t even take convincing. He signed on and said hewanted to help push it. When the enhanced ACA premium tax credits were about to expire, he helped lead the bipartisan fight to extend them and even signed a Democratic discharge petition to get something to the House floor. Lobster traps, union rights and health insurance do not have much in common, except that on all three, Lawler chose to solve the problem rather than campaign on it.

I do not put too much stock in Washington scorecards, but they confirm what I saw up close. The nonpartisan Lugar Center rated Lawler the fourth most bipartisan member of the entire House in the last Congress. The Center for Effective Lawmaking named him the most effective freshman lawmaker in the country. This summer, Bridge Gradesscored him 99.2 out of 100, the best mark in New York’s delegation. Behind those numbers is a simple habit: he would rather pass a bill with the other party than score a point against it.

I know how bipartisan Mike Lawler really is

I know something about what that takes. I held the most challenging district of any Democrat in the country by earning the trust of Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike. Lawler holds one of just three Republican seats in the country that Kamala Harris carried in 2024. Representing districts like ours forces you to work for people who disagree with you, and it teaches you that those people are not your enemies. They are your neighbors.

I made an oath of allegiance to the United States and the Constitution when I began my service in the Marine Corps, and I carried it through deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans understand something too many politicians have forgotten: the greatest threats to America do not come from within our own borders. They come from beyond them. But Mike has that conviction, and it’s why he and I have worked together to stand up for our democracy and our constituents. We have real adversaries in this world, and they are not our fellow citizens. When candidates for office tell voters that the gravest danger to this country is other Americans and the leaders they elect, that isradical talk, and it is the same politics of fear I have refused to practice for my entire career.

I am leaving Congress in January by my own choice, but I have not given up on the institution, and voters should not either. The Congress we get is the one we elect, and the country needs fewer members who treat the job as a stage and more who treat it as work. In New York’s Hudson Valley this fall, that is the choice on the ballot. Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent. I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work. Wherever you live, find the members who pass laws with the other party, and keep them. Maine’s lobstermen can tell you how much it matters.

Jared Golden represents Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a Marine Corps veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chemtob, a Democrat elected on the New Castle Democratic Committee ticket, cites Lawler’s “true, genuine friendship to the Jewish community” and his record of working across the aisle.

New Castle, NY — September 14, 2026 —  New Castle Town Councilwoman Ally Chemtob, a registered Democrat who has served on the Town Board for the past five years, endorsed Congressman Mike Lawler for reelection. Chemtob said she was elected as part of the New Castle Democratic Committee ticket but was speaking as “a proud Jewish mother raising three proud Jewish children with a message to my community about something important, something bigger than party labels and partisan politics.”

“We have faced an explosion of antisemitism in all aspects of our lives. We have also watched many we thought were our allies abandon us. But we have also been reminded of who our true friends are, who is willing to stand with us,” Chemtob said. “And it is with respect to this last category, true, genuine friendship to the Jewish community, a qualification that transcends partisan concerns, that I am here today to announce that I am supporting Mike Lawler.”

“My support for Mike is personal, because when I look beyond party labels to someone I know and trust, I see someone who cares about the safety and well-being of my children,” Chemtob continued. “Jew hatred is on the rise. We are not immune to it here in New Castle. We need elected officials who are willing to confront it, wherever it comes from, even when doing so is uncomfortable, even when it creates political problems, and even when it means challenging people within our own political parties. Mike has always been willing to stand up against antisemitism and to stand with the Jewish community, both before October 7 and after.”

Chemtob pointed to Lawler’s lead sponsorship of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 320 to 91, his work across party lines on Jewish security, and the A grade he earned in the most recent nonpartisan Bridge Grades report, the top score of any member of New York’s congressional delegation.

“I don’t have to agree with Mike on every issue. Neither do you. But I’m asking you to consider the individual, look at his record, recognize his character and his courage,” Chemtob concluded. “We shouldn’t write off a candidate based off of the letter in front of his name. I am putting the interest of my community ahead of party loyalty, and I hope we can agree that our loyalty should ultimately be to our values, our community, and our conscience. It’s why I am standing here today, breaking with my own party to support Mike Lawler, because Mike is not afraid to stand up for what’s right and just.”

“Ally, I am beyond humbled by your support and, moreover, your friendship. We have been able to work together across the aisle to deliver real results for this district,” said Congressman Mike Lawler. “We are in a moment where moral clarity is needed now more than ever, when people have to stand tall and make clear who they stand with. I will always stand with the Jewish community throughout my district and throughout our country. I want to thank Ally for her leadership and her courage in crossing the aisle to support me in this election. It shows that she is the type of person who, above all else, cares about serving the community and getting the job done.”

Lawler represents one of just a handful of Republican-held districts in the country carried by Kamala Harris in 2024 and won reelection there by more than six points.

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The full video of the endorsement can be found here.

A new 30-second spot from the Lawler for Congress campaign pairs Conley’s own words on data centers with the $328,283 her financial disclosure shows two artificial intelligence companies have paid her since January 2025, all documented on CaitConley.AI

Pearl River, NY — September 12, 2026 —  The Lawler for Congress campaign released a new 30-second ad, “Pay Day,” on Cait Conley’s financial relationship with the artificial intelligence industry and her support for building data centers in the Hudson Valley. The spot begins airing today across broadcast, cable, streaming, and digital as part of the campaign’s $5 million fall advertising program. Pay Day will have over seven figures behind it as it airs on broadcast, cable, digital, and other media.
 

Watch “Pay Day” here.

The ad opens with Conley’s own words: “We need data centers.” The narrator answers: “Cait Conley has hundreds of thousands of reasons why she wants to build data centers in the Hudson Valley. Conley took a massive six-figure payday from the AI companies she steered contracts to when she worked for Biden. No wonder Cait Conley wants them.” Conley closes the case herself: “We need data centers. We’re not going to get rid of them.”

Cait Conley’s full record is available at CaitConley.AI, which documents Conley’s ties to the artificial intelligence industry and the more than $300,000 she has been paid to consult for it.

The number behind the ad comes from Conley’s own filing. Her personal financial disclosure, filed with the Clerk of the House on May 19, 2026, reports $328,283 in salary and consulting fees since January 2025 from two artificial intelligence companies, Hidden Level and Primer. Both companies advertise partnerships with Palantir, and both are federal defense contractors. The Intercept and Politico first reported Conley’s work for the two firms in February. She filed her May financial disclosure only after seeking an extension that would have kept it out of public view until August 13, weeks after the Democratic primary, and only after the Hudson Valley Digger reported on the delay. She has declined to describe what she does for either company, telling voters she signed nondisclosure agreements.

Conley spent the Biden administration in the national security roles her employers sell into, first as a director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff and then as a senior adviser at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, which she left in January 2025. Primer’s website says its AI platforms “support DHS missions.” After Conley left her high-ranking job in the Biden White House and the Department of Homeland Security, she cashed in with a massive six-figure payday from the same AI/big-tech companies who raked in millions in government contracts during her time in the Administration, and whose lobbyists, lawyers, and executives she repeatedly squired around the White House, granting special access and insider perks.

“Cait Conley looked straight into a camera and said, ‘We need data centers, and we are not going to get rid of them.’ Her own financial disclosure shows she’s on the payroll of two AI companies that have paid her $328,283 since the start of last year,” said Lawler for Congress Campaign Manager Ciro Riccardi. “She helped steer federal contracts to these companies while overseeing their work, and is now profiting with massive contracting gigs after leaving the Biden White House.”

Cait Conley owes Hudson Valley voters direct answers to basic questions:

1. What does she do for Hidden Level and Primer in exchange for $328,283?
2. Does she support Governor Hochul’s moratorium on new large data centers, yes or no?
3. If elected, will she recuse herself from legislation affecting the artificial intelligence companies that pay her?
4. Why did she try to keep her financial disclosure out of public view until after the primary?

“While Mike Lawler is fighting to protect our community. Cait Conley is fighting to protect her fat AI company paychecks,” Riccardi said. “Cait should explain to the folks she wants to represent why the Hudson Valley should host the data centers that power the industry paying her.”

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Speaking to Republicans, Democrats, and Independents across the country, Lawler recounted the SALT cap fight, his bipartisan work in Congress, and then introduced Jess and Tom Gorman, whose daughter Sheridan was killed in Chicago by an illegal immigrant with an outstanding warrant.

Dallas, TX — September 10, 2026 —  Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) addressed the Republican Convention in Dallas tonight and introduced his constituents Jess and Tom Gorman of Yorktown Heights, whose 18-year-old daughter Sheridan was shot and killed in Chicago in March.

Lawler began by highlighting the historic tax wins he delivered for the American people and his district, as well as his disagreements with President Trump:

“The truth is that the President and I don’t always agree. And that’s ok. After all, we’re New Yorkers. We argue,” Lawler said. “But, in contrast to what the media tells you, what I learned about President Trump behind closed doors is that if you’re willing to make your case and fight for what you believe in, he’s willing to listen.”

Lawler recounted his public fight with Republican leadership and the President over the SALT deduction. “Instead of rolling over, I made my case directly to the President,” Lawler continued. “By working together, we delivered historic tax cuts for working families and retirees. The average American saved over $2,300 last year, and the typical family of four in my district saved over $4,000 this year as a result.”

Lawler also showcased his work to fight against sanctuary policies and introduced the Gormans, whose daughter, Sheridan, lost her life at the hands of an illegal immigrant in Chicago in March of this year:

“There is nothing compassionate about prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens. Sanctuary cities and open border policies are not abstract political positions; they are deadly,” Lawler stated. “The Gormans have more courage than any Democrat member of Congress who voted against protecting our citizens from criminal illegals. They are not running for office. But their story, Sheridan’s story, is the direct result of bad policy. Policies that we can’t afford to go back to ever again.”

Jess Gorman described her daughter, a Loyola University Chicago freshman, as the kindergartener who appointed herself “The Guardian of the Buddy Bench,” going to any classmate who looked lonely. Sheridan was killed on March 19, 2026, after going with friends to the Chicago lakefront to see the Northern Lights.

“Illegal Immigration and these Sanctuary policies have stolen so much from us all, but the one thing it can never steal is our hope. This Buddy Bench for Congress is our hope.  It is a bridge. A place to sit down. To listen. To find a way forward together,” Jess Gorman said. “And Congressman Mike Lawler, tonight we want you to be the first member of Congress to sit on Sheridan’s Bench with us. We chose you to represent us – and you chose us back.  You made Sheridan feel seen.  So thank you.”

“We hope Mike is only the first of many to sit on Sheridan’s Bench,” Jess concluded. “We hope Mike is only the first of many to sit on Sheridan’s Bench.”

Lawler represents one of just eight Republican-held districts carried by Kamala Harris in 2024.

 

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Building trades, Teamsters, rail and transit, maritime, and federal employee unions back Lawler. With the eleven law enforcement unions announced last month, more than thirty unions now back his campaign.

Pearl River, NY — September 8, 2026… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) announced that twenty labor unions have endorsed his reelection campaign, a coalition that runs from the building trades and the Teamsters to the unions whose members run the region’s trains, crew the nation’s ships, move the mail, and staff the federal government. Combined with the eleven law enforcement unions that endorsed Lawler on August 17, more than thirty unions now stand behind his campaign.

The endorsements include:

Building trades

• Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties

• North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC)

• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 363

• International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC)

• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 825

• Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) New York

• Laborers’ Local 754

Transportation

• New York Teamsters (Teamsters Joint Council 16)

• Teamsters Local 456

• Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)

• Transport Workers Union New York State Conference

• SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD)

• Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)

Maritime

• American Maritime Officers (AMO)

• International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P)

• Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA)

• Seafarers International Union (SIU)

Federal and postal employees

• American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)

• National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM)

• National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 300

Politico’s New York Playbook reported Tuesday that Lawler’s labor support is “significantly higher this year than it was in 2024,” when 17 unions endorsed him. On August 27, the New York Teamsters announced their 2026 congressional endorsements, backing Lawler as one of five Republicans on a bipartisan slate of twenty incumbents, every one of whom voted for the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

“I’m deeply honored to have the endorsements of a broad coalition of labor unions representing the men and women who build our roads and buildings, deliver our packages, run our trains, crew our ships, move our mail, keep our communities safe, and keep the government running,” said Congressman Mike Lawler. “I’ll never stop fighting for the workers who are the backbone of the Hudson Valley economy, and I’ll work every day to keep their support and their respect.”

“Our members understand the importance of electing leaders who recognize the value of good-paying union jobs, strong workplaces, and the dignity of working people. We believe Congressman Lawler has demonstrated a commitment to the issues that matter to working families throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond,” said Louis A. Picani, President and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 456. “Based on his record, his engagement with our members, and his understanding of the challenges facing working families, Teamsters Local 456 is proud to endorse Congressman Mike Lawler for re-election.”

“It’s an honor to support this bipartisan group of incumbents, because the Faster Labor Contracts Act is a game-changer, and it will empower workers more than any federal law that’s been passed since the New Deal. Support for this bill is a litmus test for whether a member of Congress actually supports the American worker, and every one of our endorsed candidates passed that test with flying colors,” said Thomas Gesualdi, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16, announcing the New York Teamsters’ endorsements on August 27.

“You have a proven track record and the experience of representing all of the people in the Hudson Valley in a way that many others cannot do. We appreciate what you do for us, and we very strongly support you in the next election coming up in November of 2026,” said Sam Fratto, Business Manager of IBEW Local 363.

“Our Council represents over 28,000 members who are dedicated to their craft and who set the highest standards for skills in the construction industry,” said Scott Smith, Business Manager of Carpenters Local 279, on behalf of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. “We stand with you in the upcoming election.”

“We appreciate your willingness to work across party lines and your commitment to advancing policies that strengthen transportation safety, support working families, and promote economic opportunities,” said Michael S. Baldwin, President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. “Your decision to sign the letter to Secretary Duffy urging the Department of Transportation to maintain long-standing rail safety requirements and reject efforts to weaken in-person inspections reflects a clear commitment to protecting railroad employees, the traveling public, and the communities our members serve every day.”

Lawler is a proud Davis-Bacon Republican. He provided the 218th signature on the discharge petition that forced a House vote on the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550), which restores collective bargaining rights for federal employees, and he was one of 20 Republicans who voted for it when it passed the House 231 to 195 on December 11, 2025. He cosponsored the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408), signed the discharge petition that brought it to the floor, and was one of 20 Republicans who voted for it when it passed 230 to 193 on June 9, 2026.

He co-led the bipartisan Safe Tracks Act on rail safety with Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and cosponsored the Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act (H.R. 4095). He introduced the Transit Funding Flexibility Act (H.R. 5024) to let federal transit dollars support transit workers’ pay, benefits, and training, and cosponsored the SHIPS for America Act (H.R. 3151) to rebuild the American maritime workforce, the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act (H.R. 2086), the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act (H.R. 1065), and H.Res. 70 opposing privatization of the Postal Service. He co-led the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (H.R. 4896). In August, he brought Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling to the Hudson Valley to meet with the Westchester-Putnam Building Trades Council. Since taking office, Lawler has secured more than $80 million in community project funding and federal investment for the Hudson Valley.

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Thirteen American service members were murdered by an ISIS-K suicide bomber at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, while Cait Conley was serving as a director for counterterrorism on President Biden’s National Security Council staff. Yesterday, as the White House proclaimed a national day of commemoration and the country honored the fallen, Conley said nothing. Five years on, she has never publicly addressed the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal. 

Pearl River, NY — August 27, 2026 — Yesterday, Americans marked five years since the terrorist attack at Abbey Gate, where an ISIS-K suicide bomber murdered 13 American service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The White House proclaimed August 26, 2026, a day of commemoration and named each of the fallen: Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sgt. Nicole Gee, Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Cpl. Daegan Page, Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Maxton Soviak. In a district Mike Lawler calls a district of heroes, where more than half of households include a veteran, service member, law enforcement officer, or first responder, many across the Hudson Valley joined in that remembrance.

Cait Conley, who reportedly played a crucial role on President Biden’s NSC staff as Director of Counterterrorism, said nothing. As of today, Conley still has not posted a remembrance of the 13 fallen on her watch nor issued a statement on the anniversary, on any campaign account or on her campaign website. On the anniversary itself, Townhall reported that Conley “has never commented publicly about the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal effort.”

Conley was on active duty at the White House during the first two years of the Biden administration, serving, in her own words, as “a director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff.” That is also the credential cited frequently when she appears on national television. This places her directly in the Biden White House’s room of decision-makers on the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan in a decade, an attack carried out by the terrorist group ISIS-K.

In May, Fox News reported that Conley has been “largely silent” on the evacuation, that her exact responsibilities during the withdrawal “remain undisclosed,” and that her position “would have likely landed her in meetings about the planning and execution of the evacuation.” Her campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee indicates that the National Security Council “played an outsized role in the decision-making process leading up to the withdrawal.”

“Yesterday, most of the country stopped to honor 13 heroes who gave their lives at Abbey Gate. The White House proclaimed it a day of remembrance. Their families miss them every single day. Yet Cait Conley, who was Director of Counterterrorism at NSC in the Biden White House on the day an ISIS-K bomber killed them, could not muster a single word in remembrance,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “She brings up her White House credentials on the campaign trail and in interviews all the time. But five years after one of the deadliest days for American troops in Afghanistan, Cait still will not tell voters what she did, what she knew, or what she thinks went wrong.”

Cait Conley owes Hudson Valley voters honest answers on the following:

1. Why did she offer no public remembrance of the 13 Americans killed at Abbey Gate on the fifth anniversary of the attack, a day the White House proclaimed a national commemoration?
2. What was her role, as a director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff, in the planning and execution of the August 2021 withdrawal?
3. Does she believe the withdrawal was handled competently, and if not, who in the administration she served should be held accountable?

“Cait Conley tells voters her national security record is a reason to vote for her, but she refuses to defend her decision-making when it comes to one of the deadliest days for American troops since the turn of the millennium,” Riccardi concluded. “Not only is Cait too chicken to debate, but she’s also too chicken to answer for her failures in the Biden White House.”


 

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NOTUS reports that Cait Conley pledged not to accept corporate PAC money, yet nearly half of the contributions she received from federal PACs came from committees that took corporate PAC money. Conley’s campaign did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

Pearl River, NY — August 26, 2026 — NOTUS reported this morning that Cait Conley is “one of the candidates who pledged not to accept corporate PAC money,” and that she has benefited from a workaround the outlet says “is enabling the flow of money from business interests into the campaign accounts of many Democrats who otherwise reject cash from corporate PACs.”

According to the report, “nearly half of the contributions that Conley received from federal PACs came from committees that took corporate PAC money.” Conley received tens of thousands of dollars from PACs that get contributions from corporations, including defense companies Honeywell International and Lockheed Martin.

The report describes a broader arrangement in which committees established by Democratic leaders, including Jeffries, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, “have donated to ‘no corporate PAC money’ candidates while receiving donations from corporations such as banking giant Barclays, pharmacy chain CVS and insurance company UnitedHealthcare this year.”

“Cait Conley made a show of swearing off corporate PAC money, and this morning the whole country learned that her words continue to mean nothing. She’s received tens of thousands of dollars from Washington committees chockful of corporate cash, including money from defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Honeywell,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “Corporate money still reached her campaign; it simply made a stop at a leadership PAC on the way, so the pledge could stay on her website.”

Cait Conley owes Hudson Valley voters direct answers to basic questions:

1. Will she return the tens of thousands of dollars she’s received from leadership PACs funded by corporate money?
2. Will she commit, for the rest of this campaign, to refusing contributions from any committee that accepts corporate PAC money?
3. Will she remove the references to not taking corporate money from her website?
4. Why did her campaign have nothing to say when NOTUS asked for comment?

“Cait Conley has spent this campaign lecturing the Hudson Valley about corruption and getting money out of politics, and it turns out that she’s been funneling corporate dollars into her campaign through the side door,” Riccardi concluded. “She should be honest with voters about her pledge meaning nothing, or immediately return all money she’s received from Leadership PACs that take corporate dollars.”

 

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In a thirty-second spot released Wednesday, Cait Conley announced she is running to ban congressional stock trading, enact term limits, and end corruption. Congressman Lawler co-sponsored the stock trading ban and voted to pass it four weeks ago, has backed a term limits amendment and pledged to enact term limits since 2022, and voted to expel a corrupt member of his own party from Congress.

Pearl River, NY – 8/19/2026… The Lawler campaign today offered its sincere thanks to Democrat Cait Conley and her stellar team of well-paid media consultants, whose new ad promotes three reforms Congressman Mike Lawler has backed, voted for, or both.

“I’m running to ban congressional and White House stock trading, enact term limits, and end corruption,” Conley wrote in the post launching the spot. The Lawler campaign agrees these are excellent priorities. It knows this because Mike Lawler got there first.

“We want to thank Cait Conley for the endorsement,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “She had thirty seconds of airtime and spent most of them listing things Mike Lawler has already done. She even mentioned him by name in her post, which was thoughtful. Next time we can simply send her our talking points and save her production team the research, since she seems to love copy-pasting Mike’s positions so much!”

For the convenience of the Conley campaign’s research department, a summary:

• Banning congressional stock trading. The House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act on July 22, four weeks before Conley’s ad. The bill bars members of Congress, their spouses and their dependent children from buying individual stocks while in office. Lawler was an original co-sponsor and voted yes.
• Term limits. Lawler is a co-sponsor of House Joint Resolution 12, the constitutional amendment limiting service to three terms in the House and two in the Senate. He signed on in February 2025, eighteen months before Cait’s ad went up. He has also signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge.
• Ending corruption. Lawler co-sponsored the resolution to expel George Santos, a corrupt member of his own party, and was one of 105 Republicans who voted to remove him from Congress. Mike Lawler has helped give corrupt lawmakers the boot.

Lawler’s support for a stock trading ban did not start when he decided to run for Congress, unlike Cait. “Stock trading by members of Congress or their spouses should be banned,” he tweeted in May 2025. “The appearance of impropriety, or worse, is too great.” When the ban passed the House, he put it plainly: “If you serve the public, you serve only the public. You don’t get to play the market with one hand while writing the rules with the other.”

Conley’s ad also leaves out a key detail. When the stock trading ban came to the floor, it passed 232 to 198, and just 13 Democrats voted yes. The bill is now before the Senate. If Conley is serious about the cause she has adopted, the Lawler campaign suggests she begin by persuading her own party to stop voting against it, and tell voters whether she would have joined the other 13 Democrats who voted to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.

“If Cait Conley would like to learn about the rest of Mike Lawler’s agenda, he has accepted four televised debates and will happily walk her through it on any of those stages,” Riccardi concluded. “She has had the invitations since June. Until then, we encourage her to keep cutting ads about Mike Lawler’s stellar record. This one was our favorite so far.”

As for Cait Conley’s concern about “partisanship in Washington,” Lawler earned a 99.2 out of 100 in the latest nonpartisan Bridge Grades report card on bipartisanship, the best score in New York’s congressional delegation.

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