ASHEVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A congressional town hall was tense and at times hostile on Thursday night.
Defying guidance from Republican leaders, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC-11) met with constituents in Asheville where he faced an angry crowd of around 300 people.
Edwards explained his reasoning to move forward with the town hall in an interview with NewsNation last week.
“I’m proud of what Republicans are accomplishing right now, and I want the opportunity to talk about that,” he said.
MORE FROM QUEEN CITY NEWS
Congressional warnings
The event was hectic. Protesters gathered outside could be heard chanting from inside the auditorium where constituents expressed their frustration with Edwards’ support for the Trump administration.
The congressman able to get through his prepared remarks but spent most of the evening fielding questions about the Trump White House and his advisor, billionaire Elon Musk.
“I want to ask him what he is doing to control the problem of the president usurping Congress’ constitutional right to allocate funding,” said Brenda Kline from Weaverville.
But despite what happened during the 90-minute meeting, Edwards told reporters he does not regret the decision to host the event and looks forward to future conversations with his constituency.
““It doesn’t change my plans at all, I had eight town halls in my first term in Congress, I enjoy getting out amongst the people,” said Edwards. “This one was a little more uncomfortable than some of the others but that’s okay.”
