Rep. Jim Hagedorn, R-Blue Earth, held a lively town hall in Faribault on Saturday, sharing his views and accomplishments over his first year in Congress while fending off harsh criticisms from some of his more liberal constituents.
Held at Faribault Middle School, Saturday’s event was Hagedorn’s 20th in-person town hall since his election. He also held a town hall in Le Center on Saturday, and will hold a town hall at Waseca High School at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
The Faribault town hall is part of Hagedorn’s pledge to hold town hall events in every county in the district. The first district spans all or part of 21 counties in southern Minnesota from the Mississippi River to the South Dakota border.
After losing to now-Gov. Tim Walz in 2014 and 2016, Hagedorn won the seat in 2018 by the narrowest of margins, defeating DFLer Dan Feehan. Across the country, the district was only one of three to flip from Democrat to Republican. Feehan is running again in 2020, and the race is expected to be competitive. President Trump won the district by 15 points in 2016, although an October 2018 poll showed a plurality of district residents disapproving of Trump’s job performance.
Hagedorn ran for Congress pledging to serve as a “conservative reinforcement” and strong Trump supporter. He’s followed that path since his election, vocally supporting the President’s agenda and blasting the Democratic-lead House’s impeachment proceedings as partisan.
“Donald Trump is one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had,” Hagedorn said. “The president has done a great job reviving our economy, making sure our defense is rebuilt, defending our basic rights, and trying to implement conservative views and ideas.”
While Hagedorn started off the town hall by touting his less partisan work, it quickly moved toward more controversial issues. Hagedorn was pressed particularly hard over his position on climate change by a local farmer who said she’s already seen its effects. To the consternation of some in the audience, Hagedorn expressed skepticism that human activity has been the primary cause of recent climate change. He pledged to support efforts to reduce energy costs and achieve energy independence through an “all of the above” energy strategy.
Hagedorn contrasted his approach with those offered by Democrats, which he said would raise energy prices. He offered particularly stinging criticism of the Green New Deal sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and more than 100 House Democrats.
“The concept is that we’re going to have a transformation of our economy and we’re going to have mandates coming from the federal government,” Hagedorn warned. “It will make us less competitive around the world and it will drive up the price of every product and service in our economy.”
Hagedorn also addressed the issue of health care. He’s has long taken a strong conservative position on health care, portraying the Affordable Care Act and proposals like Medicare for All or a Public Option as threats to the region’s largest employer, the Mayo Clinic.
“(Medicare for All or a Public Option) lowers reimbursements for doctors and hospitals in rural areas, will bankrupt rural hospitals, it will undermine the model of medicine that we have in Rochester, and it will undermine our economy,” he said.
Instead, Hagedorn touted proposals that would allow people to buy health insurance across state lines and cost transparency. Hagedorn cited the price transparency bill offered at the state level by Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake, as a particularly sound proposal.
Under Draheim’s bill, patients would have the opportunity to shop outside their health insurance company’s network. If they can find cheaper health care services, those savings will be split between the insurance company and the consumer.
Draheim’s work on the issue of price transparency has even won him recognition from the President of the United States. Last June, he was one of just 10 state legislators from across the country invited to join President Trump as he signed an executive order on health care price transparency.
Draheim attended the town hall, and Hagedorn made time for Draheim to speak briefly about his bill. Rep. Brian Daniels, R-Faribault, was also in attendance and spoke briefly about the legislature’s work on infrastructure.
“No matter who or what is paying for our insurance, we should know what the cost of care is,” Draheim said.
Hagedorn called for reducing the price prescription drugs, while expressing concerns that by placing a tax on pharmaceutical companies, the Democrats’s prescription bill could slow the development of new treatments and cures.
“We want to make sure that these companies and the research continues, so they keep finding every possible cure to every last disease,” he said.
Immigration and the wall
Several audience members also pressed Hagedorn hard on immigration. Like Trump, the congressman has long supported a hardline approach to immigration, calling for a temporary halt to U.S. refugee intake even before the president did.
Hagedorn was first asked about the Temporary Protected Status program. Created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS is designed to allow foreign nationals residing in the U.S. to stay in the event that their home country is suffering from armed conflict or natural disaster. The Trump Administration has criticized the TPS program and tried to end TPS protections for several countries, claiming that they are no longer needed. The courts have blocked several such attempts, with judges viewing the push as politically motivated.
Hagedorn’s voting record has consistently followed the Trump Administration’s position on TPS. He’s even opposed TPS bills in cases that have garnered bipartisan support, such as one offered by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to extend TPS to Venezuelans fleeing socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“If people have been here on TPS for 10-20 years, then frankly, shame on the government for allowing that to happen,” he said. “The concept is that they’re supposed to come here for temporary refuge, not to become long-time residents or citizens of the United States.”
Hagedorn was also asked if he would consider supporting a “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants That provision was at the heart of immigration reform proposals pushed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and Barack Obama in 2013, and enjoyed broad and bipartisan support but ultimately failed amid conservative opposition.
Hagedorn insisted that such an option couldn’t even be considered until the border is “secured.” He touted his support for the president’s border wall, saying that it would increase security by forcing border crossers to enter through legal ports of entry. He also offered strong criticism of sanctuary laws, which limit the ability of local police officers to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials so as to protect low-priority undocumented immigrants from deportation.
“We want to be as humane as possible, but we want to be a country of laws,” Hagedorn said. “We need to execute those laws and do what is right for the citizens of our country, who should be our first priority.”
