YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Concerns about President Donald Trump’s economic policies, approach to foreign affairs and effort to cut government spending dominated a telephone town hall hosted by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce.
Joyce, R-14th, fielded questions from eight callers during the Wednesday evening event, which lasted about half an hour. More than 3,000 callers called into the event, a Joyce spokeswoman said.
The congressman, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2012, acknowledged several constituents have requested an in-person town hall. The telephone town hall helped him reach as many constituents as possible while he is working in Washington, D.C., and provide “a great opportunity” to provide them with updates about what is happening in the Capitol, he said.
In recent weeks, other members of Congress have eschewed in-person town halls after being met with angry questions from constituents regarding Trump and the actions of his administration, including those of businessman Elon Musk, head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
A caller who identified herself as Donna from Ashtabula was among those questioning Musk and DOGE, as well as executive actions by Trump that ignore the three branches of government and override legislation enacted by Congress.
“The orders and actions are not benefiting us, the average citizen,” she said. “Our taxes are paying for the services that are being cut.”
Joyce defended the intent behind DOGE, which he said was targeting agencies at all levels of government to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. He acknowledged the layoffs and pauses to federal funding are causing frustration, and several lawsuits have been filed over issues, including DOGE’s attempts to access sensitive personal data.
“Here in Washington, D.C., we don’t have a problem with revenue, we have a problem with our spending, and so we need to cut spending,” he said. “When I got here, we were $18.5 trillion in debt. Now we’re a little over $30 trillion, and we can’t continue down this road. We’re going to bankrupt our nation.”
Joyce pledged that Congress would ensure that the executive branch will abide by any court rulings.
In response to a question about proposed cuts to Medicaid from a caller who identified herself as Anastasia from Warren, Joyce said Trump had made clear that he would not make any cuts to that program, Medicare or Social Security but was focusing on eliminating fraud in those programs.
The budget resolution passed last month did not include cuts to specific programs but “set up the framework” for congressional committees to develop a larger bill that addresses Republican priorities. In addition, he said he signed a discharge petition in September that helped force a House vote to eliminate two provisions added to legislation passed in 1983 that reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for Americans in public service such as police officers and firefighters.
“We’ll work with the administration and my colleagues here in the House to ensure Ohioans have access to the health care they deserve,” he said.
A caller identifying himself as Dave from Warren pressed Joyce on the staff cuts Musk is making to the Social Security Administration. “We did not elect Elon Musk, and he is cutting many jobs,” the caller asserted.
“This isn’t a private company, and people’s lives are at stake. Their benefits are at stake,” Joyce conceded. There has to be time to “think these processes through” and discuss what he is trying to accomplish, rather than “going through this in a mindless, careless manner,” as visualized by the image of Musk wielding a huge chainsaw he was given last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“There could be some good coming out of this. We have to give them a little time,” the congressman said.
Rick from Painesville shared concerns over the president’s economic policies. Trump promised to lower inflation, but since entering office this year has only been “flipping and flopping” on tariffs. Before the call, Trump announced a 25% tariff on automobiles manufactured outside the United States.
“History has proven that tariffs do not work long-term,” the caller asserted.
The various tariffs announced by Trump and the retaliatory tariffs set by other nations have stoked fears of a global trade war. Joyce acknowledged some manufacturers in his district have told him that they want to use American-made steel in their products but they sometimes need specialty steel that isn’t produced domestically.
He also said he would like to believe the president is using the tariff threats to “help draw people to the table to create a more simple and safe trade system so we don’t have such large barriers between us. The steel and aluminum industries have been harmed over the years of unfair trade practices.”
Another caller, identified as Sandra from Cortland, expressed her disappointment with Trump’s meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and concern that Trump would side with Russia President Vladimir Putin.
Joyce said he has consistently supported Ukraine and that Russia and Putin are enemies of the United States bent on “world domination.” But he credited Trump with initiating steps toward a peace agreement between the warring nations.
“I have faith in President Trump’s negotiating skills to bring peace back to the region,” he said.