U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer praised the Trump administration’s tax cut and spending bill during a telephone town hall Wednesday night while blasting the media, Gov. Tim Walz and others.
The 6th District Republican, who serves as House majority whip, promoted President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” saying it will make tax cuts permanent, reduce spending and improve border security.
“Once we pass this bill, I’m confident that within the next six to 12 months, you are going to see an economy humming like we have not seen since before the pandemic, when Donald Trump did it the last time,” Emmer said.
Emmer took more than a dozen calls from mostly friendly constituents during the hour-long town hall. Reporters were allowed to listen, but not ask questions.
Emmer pushed back on a Congressional Budget Office report that the bill would add $2.4 trillion to deficits over the next 10 years and leave millions without health insurance.
“A lot of the detractors want to complain that this is somehow going to increase the deficit. It’s just the opposite. It’s going to reduce it,” he said.
Emmer also said the bill will “strengthen and secure” Medicare and Medicaid for those who need it most “by cutting the waste, fraud and abuse that have plagued these programs for decades.” He said nearly 5 million “able-bodied adults” on Medicaid “are choosing not to work.”
Emmer also promised Congress will make cuts recommended by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, by clawing back already approved spending through what’s known as a rescissions bill.
That includes money for the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as NPR and PBS, which Emmer said “have almost become left-wing media outlets.”
“These guys are going to say it’s eliminating Sesame Street, all children’s programming. Those are just bald-faced lies,” he said. “This is the waste, fraud and abuse that they have identified in these monies that they are calling back.”
During the call, Emmer criticized state officials, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. He also had harsh words for Walz after a caller asked who is paying for the governor’s recent speaking engagements in other states.
“This guy has not been representing Minnesotans,” he said. “He’s now in some kind of a pity tour, where he’s traveling around the country.”
One caller asked why Emmer and other members of Congress are willing to give up so much power to the president. Emmer disputed that, and said the vast majority of Americans think the administration is on the right track.
“I think they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to do,” he said. “And Congress is doing what it’s supposed to do by making sure that we’re passing the legislation that’s necessary for the administration to continue.”
