'Are you proud?' GOP lawmaker grilled over 'shameful' Trump actions at heated town hall
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) hosted a town hall in Port Madison, Iowa, on Tuesday, where voters expressed their frustrations on a variety of topics, including the economy, tariffs, mass federal cuts, and President Donald Trump's deportation policies.
One voter demanded, "We would like to know what you as the people, the Congress, who are supposed to rein in this dictator, what are you going to do about these people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a foreign country with no due process? Our government cannot do anything?"
A second voter asked a similar question: "I believe very strongly in my Christian faith. I preach on Sundays, and I believe very strongly in, 'we welcome the stranger.' I think turning away people who have come here for asylum is one of the most shameful things we are doing right now. "
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And still another person interjected, "Are you going to bring that guy back?"
"That's not a power of Congress," Grassley answered, but the man insisted: "Supreme Court said to bring him back!"
"The president of that country is not subject to our U.S. Supreme Court," Grassley said of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, as several people muttered in disgust.
Reporter Steve Contorno told CNN's Boris Sanchez, "There was a considerable and palpable angst in this room, urging [Grassley] to do more, to stand up for Iowans and stand up to President Donald Trump. Concerns ranging from local issues, like how the tariffs will affect farmers, what's going to happen to veterans hospitals and rural hospitals, to some of the larger concerns we've seen over...proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and Social Security."
Contorno said one person asked Grassley, "point blank, 'Are you proud of Trump?'"
"Grassley notably not answering directly, saying, quote, 'There's no president I've agreed with 100% of the time.'" Contorno said.