California GOP lawmaker faces taunts and jeers over Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill' at town halls
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GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa drew taunts and jeers at two raucous town hall meetings Monday over his support for President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.'
LaMalfa, whose district spans much of the state's northern interior, is the latest Republican to face harsh in-person criticism, as members of the party attempt to sell Trump's sweeping agenda back home during Congress' August break from Washington.
Last week, Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood – who also heeded the guidance of the NRCC, the House GOP's campaign arm, to focus the district work period on the president's massive domestic policy bill – met a largely hostile crowd as he was pressed on a range of issues, including the agenda bill that Trump signed into law July 4.
LaMalfa calmly address audience members throughout both town halls, even as some attendees cursed at him and railed against his support of the president, shouting 'Liar!'
While the morning crowd in Chico had been much louder, the audience in Red Bluff later in the evening was at times just as vocal, especially when LaMalfa expressed skepticism about the role of carbon dioxide in climate change.
At both town halls, LaMalfa was pressed over how Trump's agenda, which includes historic cuts to federal support for the social safety net, would affect rural hospitals, particularly those in his district. Other attendees asked questions about transparency around the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. At the morning event, LaMalfa called it a 'bad look' to have Epstein-related information continue to be 'suppressed.'
Still other attendees warned the president's tariffs would harm farmers in California and attacked the congressman's credibility.
'If you're not here to either announce your resignation, why aren't you here to apologize to the farmers of the north state because of your support for the Trump tariffs?' one audience members said at the Chico town hall.
'I'm not gonna do either. Thanks,' LaMalfa replied. 'Do you actually want to talk about something productive?'
LaMalfa defended Trump's tariffs, insisting that the United States had been taken advantage of and that the tariffs were being used to negotiate better deals for American farmers.
'And you know, is it the ideal, perfect way to go? No, I hope these tariffs can end soon,' he said Monday evening. 'I want to believe at some point we'lll end up with very low or zero tariffs with all these countries.'
LaMalfa also addressed Texas' redistricting effort, warning it is going to start 'a grass fire all across the country.'
His comments come as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has urged lawmakers to draw a new map to put before voters in a November special election. The map, as CNN previously reported, could flip five of Republicans' nine seats in the state if voters approve it in a ballot initiative and could potentially target LaMalfa's seat.
For his part, LaMalfa said he didn't support either redistricting push.
'It's really ugly and no matter which side of the aisle you're on, it doesn't look good. It doesn't give you more faith in the political process if legislators draw the lines merely to have an outcome for a partisan win,' the congressman said.
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