In her first in-person town hall of the second Trump era, Triangle congresswoman Valerie Foushee did not unveil any magic solutions for the countless concerns raised by her progressive constituents. But, as she fielded questions about social security, veterans affairs, and education, she was able to offer some small reassurances.
“We’ve talked about what it means for this country to stay great,” Foushee told the group of about 70 people at the end of the hour-long event in Pittsboro’s historic courthouse. “America’s already great; we just need to make sure that it stays great for everybody, including people like yourselves, who are experiencing something that you had nothing to do with [causing].”
Foushee was joined by Chatham County Commission chair Karen Howard and State House Democratic leader Robert Reives.
While Foushee has held virtual town halls via phone call and showed up to cut the ribbon at Carrboro’s new library, Tuesday was the first time this year that she has taken questions directly from constituents in her district. Her office posted the full recording online.
What actions will Foushee take to save the Food and Drug Administration? What can a high school teacher tell his students about the future of science? What is happening with federal Pell grants and who is even handling them? Why don’t other members of Congress care that their power is being seized by the executive?
The constituents, for the most part, seemed to want to know that someone was still fighting for them. Foushee was at her strongest as she told attendees that many Republicans in Congress also don’t like what’s going on—they’re just afraid of speaking out against it.
We need to “find some Republicans who believe that their constituents deserve the same clean air, the same clean water, the same life saving medicines that we believe that all of you deserve,” said Foushee. “We need Republicans with a backbone … to say that we should not forget the least, the lost, and the left behind.”
Joe English, a Durham constituent at the event, said he was impressed by her presence.
“You saw in her eye the passion, the care she has, not only for the people in the district, but for America,” he told INDY after the event. Still, he said Foushee could do more. He pointed out that the event only lasted for an hour, and at the end of the event, he stood up and asked Foushee why more people weren’t allowed in.
“There’s a lot of people who were on the wait list I know that wanted to come, and would have come, and I think they would have filled out the house,” he told Foushee (a staffer stepped in swiftly and expertly to tell English that she would connect with him afterward).
The online registration for Tuesday’s event quickly filled up, with aspiring registrants redirected to a wait list. But the courthouse clearly could’ve fit dozens more. Foushee’s staff said that they had been letting people off the wait list throughout the day, and that the courthouse, in the far corner of the district, was the best space they could reserve on short notice.
“It won’t be a one-off,” Foushee told the crowd. “I do have four counties, so I’m trying to give all of my constituents the opportunity to engage.”
No member of Congress’s seemingly impotent Democratic minority has figured out an effective and actionable plan for resisting Trump’s vicious 100-day agenda. Locally, residents have taken the “do whatever you can” approach, including cheerful songwriting, solo protesting, and organizing against immigration crackdowns. Everyone seems to be seeking, above all else, a reassurance that they are not alone.
Foushee, despite her progressive voting record and safely ultra-blue district, isn’t exactly an inspirational firebrand. INDY recently reported on fired federal workers’ criticism of Foushee’s response to the dismantling of American foreign aid, which has had an especially severe impact of the cuts on North Carolina (the state ranks as the fourth-highest recipient of USAID funding nationwide, with Foushee’s Fourth Congressional District ranking fourth among all 435 congressional districts in the country).
After the town hall, Foushee announced an in-person federal employee resource and listening session for Saturday in Durham.
For those who want Foushee to engage more with constituents and take their concerns to Washington, her actions this week look like a step in the right direction.
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Reach Reporter Chase Pellegrini de Paur at chase@indyweek.com. Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.