WEST BEND, Wis. — A testy town hall hosted by Wisconsin Republican Congressman Scott Fitzgerald.
The pushback came from constituents in West Bend demanding answers to the Trump administration's effort to slash government spending and a diplomatic shift on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Thursday marked Trump's first month in office.
TMJ4's Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson was the only news station at the listening session for the fiery back-and-forth discussion.
Residents came with questions for their congressman.
"How can we be represented by you if you don't have a voice in Congress?" asked Lorraine Henrickson.
They didn't like some of Scott Fitzgerald's answers.
"The end result of the fraud and abuse that has been discovered already," Fitzgerald said before getting pushback from the audience.
Congressman Fitzgerald says he has not been "briefed" on Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency or D.O.G.E but wished there had been interaction with leadership about it.
But he "supports the continuation and analysis by every cabinet member—that's where we find ourselves right now."
Watch: West Bend voters voice concerns about Trump, Musk at GOP congressman's town hall
Mary Sylvester asked about the role and responsibility of Congress. "We need three branches of government, not one. When will you stand up and say that’s enough?"
Michael Wittig is concerned with Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration—he held a sign that read "Presidents are not kings."
"Are you going to subpoena him at some point? Are you willing to use your subpoena power to tell Musk to stand in front of Congress and answer some hard questions?"
Fitzgerald insists Musk's efforts to find waste and fraud are working, and Congress will eventually have budget oversight.
"Certainly, the discussion in and around DOGE and the probationary moves that have already been done—they are going to have to be scrutinized at some point by the Ways and Means Committee where the expenditures will be made and by the other standing committees, but we just aren’t in that position right now."
If there were Trump voters in the room, none spoke up in support of Trump's first month efforts.
The Washington County Democratic Party encouraged people to show up with signs.
Many here worry about Ukraine. When asked, Fitzgerald disagreed with Trump's false claim that Ukraine started the war.
"No, Ukraine did not start the war."
Fitzgerald was an early supporter of U.S. aid to Ukraine but now believes Trump is right to try to end it.
"I don't think the president's goals are not what everybody wants, which is to end the war."
In the end, Fitzgerald won over the crowd with this answer and suggestion about Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Zelensky needs to be in the room," said Fitzgerald. "He absolutely needs to be in the room."
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