U.S. Rep. John McGuire hosted his first town hall as a sitting congressman Wednesday, opting to accept questions via telephone and not in person.
In recent days, Republican representatives who have hosted in-person town halls in their districts have seen those gatherings devolve into chaos, with constituents of both parties pushing back against Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce and agencies.
For 40 minutes Wednesday, McGuire took questions, covering a lot of ground: immigration at the U.S. southern border, billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives at the Department of Government Efficiency and — to the surprise of many — cannibal cats.
McGuire’s sprawling 5th Congressional District is a Republican stronghold in Central Virginia, with the exception of bright-blue Charlottesville, but he nevertheless remains a polarizing figure there. He has faced criticism for his attendance at President Donald Trump’s "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021, preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol. And his decision last year to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Good, divided the GOP.
In spite of this, Wednesday’s town hall featured more affection than animosity.
Fifteen questions, screened by McGuire’s staff, made it through. The majority of those who got the chance to pose their questions were clearly admirers of the freshman representative.
Call your representativeConstituents in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District don’t need to wait until a town hall to contact their representative in Washington. John McGuire and his office can be reached by phone at (202) 225-4711.
The Daily Progress received multiple complaints from 5th District constituents who said their calls were not taken and their submitted questions not asked. Many also took to social media to complain that staffers were prioritizing McGuire supporters.
McGuire himself confirmed to The Daily Progress after the town hall that the majority of those who called in were not supporters.
"Most of the callers appeared to be from the opposition party, but we treated them with love and respect during the town hall," he said in a statement. "We live in a great country where people have different views and that’s ok."
McGuire’s office told The Daily Progress after the town hall that callers "were prioritized as we received a large sum of callers who were calling in from all over the country."
Most of the discussion that did take place Wednesday focused on waste, fraud and abuse — favorite targets of both Trump and Musk.
McGuire is a member of the House Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Caucus. The group was created to support Musk’s mission of cutting wasteful government spending.
“We’ve already uncovered a surprising amount of waste, fraud and abuse,” McGuire said during his opening remarks Wednesday.
One concerned caller described DOGE as a department “headed by a man who has, sort of, Nazi leanings," an apparent reference to Musk’s hand gestures at rallies that resembled Nazi salutes and his support for Germany’s far-right AfD party. The caller asked McGuire about Musk’s latest plans to cut costs at the U.S. Department of Defense — an agency whose budget Republicans have long protected.
“I’m afraid we’re going to be short-changed,” the caller said. “Can you help me understand that?”
McGuire told the caller that DOGE is only identifying the waste, fraud and abuse and is not actually firing anyone.
“They are just making recommendations to different departments,” he said.
It’s the agencies themselves that are pursuing the program cuts and employee layoffs.
Another caller followed up, saying she fully supports cutting waste and investigating fraud in Washington but is concerned about the way it is being carried out.
Thousands of federal workers have been placed on administrative leave, laid off or issued immediate termination since Trump took office. The administration has already admitted mistakes have been made, and some workers are being asked to return to the workforce.
The cuts disproportionately affect Virginia, which hosts the second-largest population of federal workers in the nation. The commonwealth was home to 140,000 federal employees, not including federal contractors supporting $110 billion in federal contracts, before Trump took office.
“Isn’t there a different way of handling things?” she asked.
“Well, I certainly empathize,” McGuire responded. “I think we’ve all been fired or lost a job sometime in our life, and I know how tough that can be. But I also know that we are in big trouble as a country.”
McGuire said that the biggest threat to the U.S. is the national debt, which currently sits at $36.2 trillion.
"We are spending more money than we’re bringing in, and that’s not sustainable," he said. "We have to make some cuts."
One caller challenged McGuire to identify who it is that committed the waste, fraud and abuse. They asked why federal employees were only being laid off.
“Where are the arrests? Where is the accountability? Who are the people who are allowing all of this fraud and waste to happen?” the caller asked. “Why aren’t they being held accountable?”
“I’m with you,” McGuire replied. “You said you haven’t heard anything about people being held accountable? Listen, I’m all about that. But we’re getting there; we’re not there yet.”
That is about the time things took a dark — and slightly unexpected — turn.
Responding to a caller’s question to list specific examples of waste, fraud and abuse in Washington, McGuire revealed that while participating in a committee hearing, he was presented with evidence that shows that the federal government was conducting sex-change operations on animals and experimenting with cat cannibalism.
“I don’t know if anybody here loves cats and dogs, but in the oversight committee we were given evidence of experimentation of cats and dogs," McGuire said. "Millions and millions of dollars."
On Feb. 6, McGuire and other members of the House Oversight Committee held a hearing titled, "Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies." Witnesses told the committee the U.S. government has spent $20 billion in ineffective animal research and at least $240 million for sex-change operations on rats, mice and monkeys.
Justin Goodman, senior vice president of White Coat Waste Project, a Washington-based watchdog group that fights wasteful government spending on animal testing, said during the hearing that animals were given estrogen, testosterone and hormone therapies to "mimic female-to-male or male-to-female gender transitions." He also said federal employees in 2018 were flying to wet markets in China and Vietnam to purchase dog and cat meat, before bringing it back to the U.S. and then "force-feeding dog and cat meat to kittens" in a government lab in Maryland.
Goodman said the experiment was conducted to find whether "people eating dog and cat meat in China might be exposed to a particular parasite that could be carried in dog and cat meat." He said that project cost taxpayers $22 million.
“There’s no way anybody can explain to me that’s OK,” McGuire said during Wednesday’s town hall.
McGuire’s callers Wednesday were not alone in sharing their affection. At least a half-dozen times during the town hall, McGuire told callers that, regardless of the political leanings, he loves them.
“I got to tell you, if you voted for me, I love you. If you did not vote for me, I love you. If you disagree with my position on a policy, I still love you," he said. "We’re all Americans and I love you even if we disagree."
Source: www.dailyprogress.com