GOP congressman claims ‘God has a plan' for fired federal workers at yet another hostile town hall
Another Republican congressman has provoked fury from fired federal workers by telling them that "God has a plan" for their lives.
At a town hall meeting in Missouri Monday, GOP representative Mark Alford drew angry shouts of opposition from a dozens-strong crowd as he tried to defend Donald Trump sweeping government cutbacks.
It was the latest in a series of riotous town halls in red districts across the U.S. where voters expressed their frustration about Trump's policies, as well as the influence of Elon Musk.
Those reports — encompassing Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin, and beyond — were a sign of gathering anger at Trump's radical seizure of power and near-demolition of entire government departments.
"Just because you have a government job, doesn't mean it's a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court," Alford scolded his constituents on the outskirts of Kansas City, according to the local St. Joseph News-Press.
"So I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available. God has a plan and purpose for your life."
The last remark reportedly triggered an incandescent response, with one person screaming: "We don't want your god!" and another shouting: "Our god is Christian!"
As the heckling mounted, Alford said: "Government employees are going to be let go and that's just the reality. I feel bad that people have been let go, I understand that."
Asked about whether he would support cuts or changes to Medicaid, he said he believed there were "some things that can be reformed,' provoking even more shouts, including: "Do it through Congress, not Elon!"
At one point, the congressman reportedly attempted to quiet things down by saying: "Can I have your attention, please? Class? Class?" One person yelled back: "You work for us!"
According to the Office of Personnel Management, about 75,000 federal employees had accepted a buyout offer as of February 12, on top of an estimated 20,000 layoffs across multiple departments.
who asked him what he was doing to "reign in the megalomaniac in the White House.'
In Idaho on Saturday, a Republican meeting descended into chaos when a protestor was pulled from her seat, wrestled to the ground and dragged out of a packed auditorium by three unidentified private security guards.
Many of the hostile comments and questions came from Democrats and independents, though not all.
The numbers have suggested a level of motivation among blue voters reminiscent of the early stages of the Tea Party movement against Barack Obama in 2009.
"I wake up every single day just wondering if I have a job tomorrow," one woman who works for the Social Security Administration in Kansas City told the News-Press. "This is hurting, and I think he was kind of dismissive."
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