Rep. Virginia Foxx may have inadvertently revealed what her constituents really think about her, telling Fox News’ Trey Gowdy that she won’t hold town hall meetings in her district because all people do is “yell at her.”
One of the Trump administration’s biggest cheerleaders, the North Carolina Republican has been vocal in her support of the sweeping cuts made to the federal budget by DOGE. She told a GOP convention in Wilkes County on Saturday: “Elon Musk said he believes he can find $1 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse. I think we can cut $1 trillion in programs we shouldn’t be running in the federal government… So I think we’ll be getting close to being able to balance the budget.”
The 81-year-old congresswoman’s remarks were well received by the Republican faithful, but when questioned by Gowdy on Sunday night about how she planned to sell the cuts to the wider electorate during a series of “tough” town halls, Foxx took a markedly different tone.
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“No one ever outworked you, no one ever intimidated you—at least when I worked with you,” Gowdy, who represented South Carolina in the House from 2011 to 2019, told Foxx. “We see images of some tough town halls across the country… What would you say to the people of North Carolina concerned about efforts to reduce the size and scope of government? There’s pain and anger that the government is too big, so how would you handle those town halls?”
Foxx responded: “Well, first of all, Trey, I always tell people that if they want me to have a town hall, please come to my office and sit down and talk with me. I’m always happy to answer your questions and talk with you personally.
“But I don’t do town halls as I think it’s just an opportunity for people to yell at their member of Congress.”
Foxx, who famously told a reporter to “shut up” in 2023, currently chairs the House Rules Committee.
Her comments come following a wave of furious anti-Musk town halls across the states that have reportedly been “scaring” Republican bigwigs.
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) was on the receiving end of a verbal backlash from voters last week during a fractious town hall in Asheville, where he was interrupted by boos and jeers on multiple occasions as he attempted to give legislative updates.
“What do you plan to do to make sure North Carolina does not get taken over by dictatorship and fascism?” one attendee asked Edwards.
Another attendee asked the congressman if he was “afraid to stand up to Trump,” while a third implored him to “stop selling himself” as he was repeatedly interrupted.
“Do your job that you were sent there to do: to represent us all,” said one attendee, who was escorted out of the venue by security: “You’re lying! I’m a veteran, and you don’t give a f--- about me.”
“And you wonder why folks don’t want to do town halls?” Edwards quipped while a cavalcade of jeers filled the room.
At a closed-door meeting earlier this month, Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told Republican lawmakers not to hold any more town halls with constituents, warning that the viral confrontations will only get worse, sources told the Daily Beast.
