Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - 1/16/2025… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler, Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after leading a letter with over 45 other members of Congress to President Trump requesting he immediately nominate a Presidential Envoy for the Abraham Accords. Since the creation of the position in the December 2023, President Biden has left the role open, and the State Department admitted there was never even a short list of candidates.

"For over a year, President Biden left open the critical role of Presidential Envoy for the Abraham Accords, which is completely unacceptable," Congressman Lawler said. "This willful ignorance of a position designed to support our closest ally, Israel, in formalizing normalization agreements with its neighbors and other nations around the world speaks volumes about the Biden Administration." 

"I am hopeful that President Trump will take swift action on day one to right this wrong and begin to work towards a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors," concluded Congressman Lawler.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. The 17th District is also home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country.