John,

Three years ago today, I, along with hundreds of my colleagues in Congress, nearly died in the insurrection at the United States Capitol. This occurred just days after I was sworn in as the Representative for New York’s 17th Congressional District, covering parts of the Lower Hudson Valley. I was so excited to get to work, especially on behalf of a community that had elevated me from poverty all the way to the U.S. House. Readers will recall that as bad as the crises we face in America are today, they were much worse in early January of 2021. I entered Congress focused on crushing the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to my district, and getting our economy back on track.

While I accomplished those things and more, January 6th shaped my time in Congress and altered the course of American history. It also clarified the stakes for the future of our democracy. I will never forget how quickly the events of that day unfolded. How, from my vantage point seated on the House floor as the youngest member of Congressional leadership, Speaker Pelosi was whisked away by security before the rest of us in the chamber went into lockdown, only a handful of guards in the entire room to protect us from the hundreds of terrorists who had breached the Capitol complex and were roaming the halls searching for us—many of them armed with deadly weapons. I was prepared to fight alongside my colleagues Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a former Marine, and Colin Allred of Texas, who had been a linebacker in the NFL. But I also thought we would likely die. It was the first time I recalled feeling that way about a particular moment in my life.

The mob eventually found us, as evidenced by the loud banging on the locked doors behind me and the photos of security officials with guns drawn that later leaked to the press. Due to the creative thinking, and bravery, of the guards who barricaded what is known as the Speaker’s Hallway with a pile of wooden chairs, we were able to escape through underground tunnels to a more secure location. Our lives were saved—just in the nick of time.

I am writing this because our democracy is in crisis, and I fear too many Americans have forgotten what January 6th means about this new era in American politics and what the Republican Party has become in recent years. It is well established that then-President Donald Trump incited the violent mob that stormed the Capitol, looking to hang Vice President Mike Pence and assassinate members of Congress in an effort to overturn the free and fair 2020 presidential election that Joe Biden clearly won. Nevertheless, two-thirds of my House Republican colleagues voted to overturn that election just hours after nearly dying alongside me, afraid to stand up to the leader of their party.

Now, Donald Trump, twice impeached and indicted in four different jurisdictions with 91 felony charges against him, will almost certainly become the GOP’s nominee for President again. And he is more dangerous, and emboldened, than ever. He has pledged to pardon the insurrectionists who nearly took my life on January 6th, stack the FBI and Department of Justice with partisan hacks who will pursue baseless investigations into his opponents, and even jail his political enemies. In recent weeks, Trump has quoted from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, calling his political adversaries “vermin” and claiming that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” He has stated that if he returns to the White House, he intends to be a dictator on Day One.

Overwhelmingly, Trump’s former cabinet officials and White House advisors have sounded the alarm, pleading with America to believe him when he says he will do these destructive things—and much more. Several have expressed skepticism that our democracy can survive another four years of Donald Trump as President.

As someone who narrowly survived January 6th, who voted for the second impeachment of Donald Trump, who has spent a lot of time crafting legislation to strengthen our democracy, and who knows what it’s like to actually serve with Republicans in Congress, I, too, worry our democracy cannot withstand another Trump presidency. And while it would be foolish for me to try to predict whether Donald Trump will defeat President Biden this November and return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I know that what we do here in the Lower Hudson Valley matters. We will need a Democratic Congress that will fight like hell to keep Donald Trump in check, and that means defeating freshman Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who currently occupies the seat I used to hold representing the 17th Congressional District.

Even as Republicans like Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and Chris Christie very publicly warn us about the existential threat Donald Trump poses to American democracy, Mike Lawler recently told a local newspaper that he will likely support Donald Trump when he is the Republican nominee for President. This is unsurprising. Mike Lawler doesn’t just oppose voting rights legislation like every Republican serving in Congress today; he actually worked to elect Donald Trump twice, and he recently followed Trump’s directive when he voted to open a sham impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Lawler has shown time and again that when the going gets tough, he always falls in line behind the extreme MAGA Republicans—like when he voted to make MAGA Mike Johnson Speaker of the House.

I know we can still defeat fascism in this country, much like we did when we rejected Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress in the 2020 election. But only if we recognize that we are not yet out of the wilderness, and that this, too, will be the most important election of our lifetimes.

Yours in the fight,

Mondaire


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