GOP Rep Triggers Town Hall Fury by Saying: ‘I Support Elon Musk'
A Nebraska congressman who apparently thought it would be safe to venture into his deep-red district for a town hall was met with angry booing and jeers over his support for Elon Musk's DOGE.
Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) also faced outrage Tuesday over President Donald Trump's lack of support for Ukraine, along with fears the government will gut and privatize the U.S. Postal Service, the Associated Press reported.
About 200 people attended the town hall, which was held in a high school auditorium in Columbus, Nebraska. The county voted nearly 3-to-1 for Trump, according to the AP.
'What makes you think that [Musk] has no conflict of interest?' one member of the audience demanded, to cheers. 'Do you think he would cut [those interests] before he would cut our Medicare or our Social Security or our jobs?'
'I support Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency,' Flood said, leading to at least 10 seconds of sustained booing and thumbs-down from the audience.
Musk's secretive government cost-cutting 'department' has taken an axe to dozens of federal agencies, and he's signaled that Social Security—which he called the 'biggest Ponzi scheme of all time'—could also be on the chopping block.
Republicans have claimed, without providing any details, that Musk is accountable to the president and will be kept away from conflicts of interest, according to ABC News. Just this week, Musk has been allowed to install his own satellite internet in the White House and hawk Teslas from the lawn.
And that's not even getting into the $15.4 billion in government contracts his companies have received, or his attempts to eradicate agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that regulate his business.
Republicans have faced so much angry backlash over Musk and his cuts that party leaders have advised them to stop holding town halls, but Flood decided to brave one anyway.
'I do want to thank you for actually doing a town hall,' one woman said to scattered applause, before adding that Flood probably wouldn't like what she had to say next.
'First of all, I do want to say: Shame. I want to say shame for your quote that you said, '[Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky's approach today was disrespectful to President Trump and undermines the goal of bringing peace.' So shame on that,' she continued to cheers.
In late February, Trump and Vice President JD Vance invited Zelensky to the Oval Office—ostensibly to discuss a ceasefire deal—only to ambush him, berate him for not being grateful enough to the U.S, kick him out of the White House, and use the meeting as an excuse to withdraw aid from Ukraine.
'I do believe that that White House meeting was a disaster, and I believe that President Zelensky should have signed that agreement,' Flood replied, before being booed again.
He then tried to reiterate his position that Ukraine should not give up any land to Russia, Russia should return 20,000 kidnapped children to Ukraine, the U.S. should support NATO, and the U.S. should have better relations with Ukraine—none of which was reportedly in the deal he wanted Zelensky to sign. Nor does it track with his support for Musk, who appears to want to sabotage the NATO alliance.
The same woman then told him, 'I am the daughter, the niece, the sister of veterans. Korea veteran, Iraqi war.' She said she had received the American Legion Auxiliary newsletter for decades, which has repeatedly said veterans' groups were underfunded and understaffed.
'You have said otherwise with DOGE,' she said, apparently referring to DOGE's plan to fire 80,000 employees with the Department of Veterans of Affairs. 'Who is lying? Them or you?'
'We owe our veterans the best possible care we can afford,' Flood said, adding that it's an issue that should unite Americans of all political backgrounds.
Speaking with reporters after the town hall, Flood didn't sound surprised by the hostility he'd faced.
'I know that there are some angry people in my congressional district,' he said, according to the AP. 'I also know there's a lot of people who feel like America's back on track. Tonight, I put myself here because I think there's value just in allowing somebody to come express themselves.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump orders investigation into Biden's ‘autopen' pardons
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into the pardons granted by Joe Biden to family members and death-row inmates which were signed by 'autopen' in the final hours of his presidency. On Monday, a senior official in the justice department told staff that he was investigating pardons granted by the former president, and whether Mr Biden was 'competent' at the time. In an email to staff, obtained by Reuters, Ed Martin, a controversial Trump loyalist, said his investigation would look at whether Mr Biden 'was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of autopen or other means.' An autopen is a device used to add a signature to a document. Unlike the common e-signature, the autopen is a robot-writing instrument that learns how to mimic and repeat the pen strokes of any individual. They are used routinely by the White House, but Mr Trump and his supporters have spread theories that it was being used by his predecessor as he became less able to conduct the duties of president. The president's allies in Congress have also launched an investigation into its use. In the email, Mr Martin indicated that his investigation will be focused on preemptive pardons issued to several members of the Biden family, and clemency that spared 37 federal inmates from the death penalty, allowing them to serve out their sentences in prison. Mr Biden left office on Jan 20. In the run-up he said he wanted to spare his relatives from politically motivated investigations. Most controversially, he pardoned his son Hunter, who last year pleaded guilty to tax fraud and was convicted of a firearms offence. He also pardoned three siblings – James, Frank, and Valerie – as well as their spouses. A justice department spokesman declined to comment on the investigation other than to say that the email was intended for staff only. Mr Martin, who was recently appointed to several top roles in the department, including pardon attorney, previously worked as interim US attorney for Washington, DC. He was originally nominated to take on that role permanently but his nomination was withdrawn after it became clear that senators were unlikely to confirm him to the role. Even some Republicans baulked at his work defending Jan 6 rioters. A source told The Telegraph that Mr Martin has a broad remit to tackle what Mr Trump believes was the 'politicisation' of the justice department under his predecessor, and to look back at claims of electoral fraud in 2020. He said the election results looked 'weird' during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. 'There was the admission that the election was fortified. It was intentionally planned to do that in such a way to get results that looked off,' Martin said. 'Now, does that mean they cheated? We don't have that smoking gun, but we certainly have over and over and over again aspects of things that didn't look right, and we've never had the answers on it. 'So yes, we will get to the bottom of it again.' US presidents have broad power to issue pardons in the case of federal convictions. Mr Trump has also used the power. On his first day in power, he granted clemency to most of his 1,600 supporters facing criminal charges over the attack on Congress in 2021. Mr Martin last month said presidents had power over pardons. 'If you use the autopen for pardon power, I don't think that that's necessarily a problem,' Martin said during a press conference. But he added that Mr Biden's pardons still demanded scrutiny. The email is the latest twist in efforts by Republicans to ask questions about Mr Biden's health in office and to explore whether they can use them to overturn his decisions. Mr Biden, 82, ended his re-election campaign suddenly in July last year after a shambolic debate performance. Last month, he revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. His former aides have long dismissed allegations that he was ever unable to perform the role of president during his four years in office. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's Reign of Corruption Chronicled in Elizabeth Warren Report
As Elon Musk departs the Trump White House — at least officially — a new Senate report examines how the world's richest man leveraged his access to the levers of federal power to boost his myriad personal businesses including his electric vehicle company Tesla, aerospace contractor SpaceX, social media platform X, and brain chip firm Neuralink. Musk is leaving his post as a 'special government employee' — a status that limited his stint in the executive branch to 130 days. As Donald Trump made clear in a press conference, where he gave Musk a 'key' to the White House, the billionaire's influence will live on, as will his crusade against his own regulators. Issued by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the report is titled 'Special Interests Over the Public Interest: Elon Musk's 130 Days in the Trump Administration' and features a list of 130 actions by Musk, his companies, and family members that 'raise questions about corruption, ethics, and conflicts of interest.'Musk, of course, was Trump's biggest benefactor in the 2024 campaign, spending nearly $300 million to put Trump and Republican candidates into office. He then camped out at Mar-a-Lago during the presidential transition and moved to Washington with the 47th president. At times appearing to be the nation's true chief executive, Musk commanded the forces of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and sent critical agencies like USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development) through the 'woodchipper,' likely condemning millions of vulnerable people across the globe to death by preventable diseases. The Warren report is focused on Elon's use of political power to boost his businesses, or secure special benefits — from regulatory relief to rich new contracts — that favor his fortunes and his family. The report clarifies that 'Not every action listed… represents a violation of federal law,' but argues instead that 'Musk has violated norms at an astonishing pace' while engaging in and supporting actions that are 'hurting the American public.' It labels this 'scandalous behavior regardless of whether it subjects him to criminal prosecution.' The Warren report divides its list into 15 categories, which Rolling Stone can exclusively preview below: The report highlights the time, when Tesla showrooms were increasingly beset by public protests, that Trump turned the White House lawn into a Tesla lot. The report highlights more than 20 instances of Musk or DOGE helping Musk's enterprises secure new contracts on an inside track on rich lines of business. For example, it highlights Rolling Stone's report about how staff at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were instructed to find 'tens of millions' of dollars for a rich new Starlink contract. As well as a new $100 million NASA contract for SpaceX to launch an asteroid monitoring space telescope. When Trump took office, Musk companies faced federal penalties and enforcement actions totalling up to $2.4 billion, according to the report. Warren highlights CNBC reporting that the federal government has allowed nearly 40 cases against Musk companies to effectively go dormant, while others, including a Department of Justice case against SpaceX for alleged anti-immigrant discrimination in hiring, have been dropped. The report describes how Musk and the administration have targeted agencies with powers to regulate Musk businesses — including 'gutting their staff, throwing sand in the gears of their operations, and embedding DOGE staff loyal to Musk.' A key example of this is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has authority to police Musk as he turns X into a payment platform. 'Delete CFPB,' Musk has posted, and the administration has tried to bring the agency to its knees. (Read Rolling Stone's interview with Warren on this topic.) Musk operates in many highly regulated areas, from launching rockets to biomedical brain implants. The FAA has, under Trump, become a service agency for SpaceX, clearing the way for rocket launches despite frequent catastrophic failures. In Trump's auto tariff battles, the administration announced that cars with 85 percent domestic content were spared the levy — a category that reportedly only includes Teslas. Never before has a presidential megadonor had so much unfettered access to government data, insight, and decisionmakers. The report highlights Musk's role as a dominant participant at Trump cabinet meetings, despite having no cabinet-level post, who was 'privy to upcoming policy changes at the highest level of government,' many of which could boost his bottom line. Musk has been deeply enmeshed, through DOGE, in the HR decisions of the federal government — firing tens of thousands of employees while installing loyalists throughout the bureaucracy. Many of these lackeys now have permanent government gigs, and will be able to carry out Musk-aligned policy without his active direction, including the head of the Federal Communications Commission, which has oversight of radio spectrum needed by Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet business. The report links Musk to the Trump administration's sudden, curious interest in the cause of white Afrikaaners from South Africa, who have been granted refugee status amid Musk's trumped-up allegations that they face a 'genocide' — even as other truly vulnerable people from around the world are being denied admission to the United States. The report highlights a Wall Street Journal investigation into perceived threats from X execs who intimated that a planned merger between ad conglomerates might face trouble if ad clients didn't ramp up their spending on the social media platform. The report links Musk to the Trump Federal Trade Commission's 'seemingly baseless' investigation into whether Media Matters colluded with advertisers. X sued the watchdog in late 2023, after Media Matters reported that ads on the platform were being served up against 'pro-Nazi' content, leading large brands to suspend campaigns on the platform. The report links Musk's White House influence to favorable provisions of the House budget bill, including funding for the 'Golden Dome,' a space-based missile defense program that seems ready-made for Starlink. Warren's report highlights dozens of deals that Musk companies have inked with countries that are under tariff threat from the administration, as well as Musk accompanying Trump's tour of Persian Gulf countries, where the DOGE chief announced deals of his own — including that Neuralink had inked a deal to begin clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates. The report highlights how Musk's power is translating to deals for family members, including his brother recently inking a deal with Gulf states to mount drone light shows while his dad is reportedly in talks to build a Musk Tower in Dubai. Musk's fruitless effort to finance a conservative takeover of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is highlighted in the report, as is his call for judges who oppose Trump to be impeached. Despite his pledge of 'maximum transparency' by DOGE, Musk himself has hidden his norms-busting activities behind a veil of secrecy, the report concludes, failing to make public his vast financial holdings, or what if any waivers of federal ethics requirements he may have received. More from Rolling Stone Trump Has 'Broken' Musk, Jon Stewart Roasts Tech Billionaire After White House Departure Crypto Bros Celebrate Themselves at Bitcoin's Most MAGA Convention Yet Trump Tries to Blame Biden for Colorado Attack Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iowa governor election 2026: Democratic operative Julie Stauch launches campaign
After working backstage to organize several state and federal political campaigns, Democrat Julie Stauch is launching her own bid: for Iowa governor. Stauch's announcement sets up a likely primary against State Auditor Rob Sand, the first major Democrat to announce a run. Her 2026 election bid also comes after a handful of Iowa Republicans have entered or expressed interest in the race, following Gov. Kim Reynolds' surprise announcement that she isn't seeking reelection. Stauch, 68, said she's promising to be a problem-solver for all Iowans. "Trust is the whole problem right now. Nobody trusts anybody, and what we have to do is rebuild trust," Stauch said in a Monday, June 2, interview with the Des Moines Register. "Any candidate who wants to win, if you're not working on building trust with Iowans, you're not going to win because it's so bad right now, both federally and at the state level, that getting people to engage and get out and help your campaign and win won't happen unless they have a sense that they can trust you." Stauch is a fifth-generation Iowan and is the president and CEO of the Des Moines consulting company, Julie Stauch and Associates, and previously was a K-12 teacher, small business owner and chief public affairs officer for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. "I think the most important thing to know is I started working in the eighth grade in my dad's greenhouses where we had to do 20 hours of work while doing school and other things," Stauch said. "I basically have worked ever since, and I think that matters." She lived in New York, Ohio and North Carolina before returning to attend Iowa State University to study elementary education and child development. Stauch's involvement in local, state and national politics spans several elections, working in more than a dozen campaigns. She was campaign manager for former U.S. Senate candidate Michael Franken in 2022, was the state political director for Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign in 2020 and served on the national advance staff and as Iowa press secretary for the Bill Clinton-Al Gore presidential ticket in 1996. Her gubernatorial bid is her first attempt at public office. She said she is focusing her campaign on supporting public schools, clean water and Iowans' health care access. "The reason I'm running right now is because we have a lot of problems here in Iowa that need to be solved, and I can't just stand by and watch the same processes occur without actually using good problem-solving skills, and that's why I'm doing this." Eminent domain is another issue she'd prioritize as governor, Stauch said. The discussion around eminent domain was a highly contested policy issue during the 2025 legislative session, centering around the Iowa Utilities Commission's granting of powers to Summit Carbon Solutions for its proposed carbon capture pipeline in the state. "It's an abuse of the eminent domain laws to take private property for a private company," Stauch said. "That's what's wrong with this pipeline stuff. Utilities, it's OK, roads, it's OK. There are situations where we need those laws, but they're being abused right now." More: What is eminent domain? What to know about Iowa's bill limiting it for carbon pipelines An Iowa bill that would restrict eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines awaits approval from Reynolds, who is weighing whether she will sign it into law. But Stauch said her gubernatorial campaign's main priority will be a product of what comes forward during discussions with Iowans over the next year before the 2026 elections. "I also think it's going to be, what does the election teach us as leaders, because elections are lessons. Not everybody learns from them, but they are lessons in what needs to happen, and so we'll just see how that turns out," Stauch said. Stauch said Reynolds' decision not to seek reelection didn't sway her plan to run for governor. She said a wide-open governor's race will open up dialogue between Iowans and boost voter engagement. "There's just so many good things out of this happening," she said. "I expect we'll see primaries at almost every level in this, and that will be very good for both parties." She took aim at Sand, saying, "I am running to beat him, and he's got to run to beat me instead of waiting to start his campaign." Stauch said she plans to hit the road over the next year to meet Iowans across the state and answer their questions about her application "for the job of Iowa governor." "I learn things from talking with them," Stauch said, noting she has held a meeting with voters in Wayne County. "I've learned quite a bit already, and I haven't even truly hit the road yet." Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa governor election: Democrat Julie Stauch launches 2026 campaign
