Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, followed his own advice and opted for a telephone town hall Tuesday night instead of an in-person event. He still had to answer for President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Hudson celebrated the “waste, fraud and abuse” that Musk’s DOGE says it has uncovered, but said in some cases, “Maybe they moved too fast,” and that he has “asked questions about specific moves.” He did not clarify which moves he’s inquired about.
While publicly backing Trump’s agenda, behind the scenes, Republican lawmakers have shown they are politically susceptible to the political toll of Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics. Hudson was at the forefront of that early on. Amid the backlash over Trump’s cuts and Musk’s involvement, he advised House Republicans to stop holding in-person meetings with constituents.
Hudson’s staff has since clarified to NOTUS that his stance is that members should do as they see fit but explore other avenues for reaching their constituents, like telephone halls.
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“Every member engages their district in the way that best serves their constituents, and North Carolinians care more about outcomes than political theater,” Luke Blanchat, Hudson’s chief of staff, told NOTUS.
At his own telephone town hall, Hudson was asked repeatedly to answer for some of Trump’s most extreme statements.
Asked about Trump saying that he would like to deport U.S. citizens and detain them in other countries like El Salvador, Hudson said, “American citizens should not be deported.”
“I don’t know what the president meant when he said that,” Hudson said. “I intend to ask him.”
Asked to clarify his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, Hudson reiterated that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin started the war: “It was an unprovoked, illegal act of invading a sovereign country.”
Hudson received several questions signaling serious concerns about Republicans’ Capitol Hill agenda, including their budget proposal that sets up the ability to cut Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and food-assistance programs. Hudson voted for the budget but told constituents he supports the continuation of these benefits “for people who depend on them.”
He went on to support work-requirements for Medicaid.
“If you’re an able-bodied adult with no dependent and you can work, then you either need to be looking for a job, getting an education or working,” Hudson told a constituent who was concerned about her benefits being cut while dealing with a disability. “There’s a lot of folks like I said, they could be working. They’re taking the money that you deserve. And so we’re looking at ways to strengthen the system.”
Democrats are gearing up to address voters in Hudson’s district in person on Thursday. As part of their ongoing series of “People’s Town Halls,” Democrats have planned an event in North Carolina’s Alamance County featuring Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Maxwell Frost alongside state Democratic party chair Anderson Clayton and Democratic National Committee vice chair Reyna Walters-Morgan. They intend to call out Hudson for choosing not to hold an in-person event of his own.
Hudson’s staff brushed off the coming town hall.
“Chairman Hudson is focused on delivering results, not Democrat pep rallies starring out of state and out of touch politicians,” Blanchat told NOTUS.
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Calen Razor is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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