Trump, town halls and other takeaways from Rep. Smucker's LNP editorial board meeting
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker continues to support President Donald Trump's legislative agenda and has confidence in his ability to govern despite "distractions" along the way.
In a meeting with LNP's editorial board Thursday, the West Lampeter Republican congressman also said he opposes a government shutdown over border wall funding and that he has no plans to hold an in-person town hall.
The conversation with the congressman — eight months after he succeeded Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts in the 16th Congressional District — came as members of Congress are gearing up to return to Washington after their August recess.
The hourlong discussion touched on an array of topics, from Smucker's specific areas of focus to major legislative initiatives this year, such as health care, tax reform and immigration.
Below is the full video and a few takeaways.
Town hall and constituent engagement Smucker, responding to many reader questions about whether he will hold an in-person town hall with constituents, said he has no plans to do so. But he said he will, "whenever we reach a point where we think it will be a productive way to interact."
"I've held a lot of town halls when I was in the state Senate but I've also been watching what happens in town halls across the country," Smucker said. "I understand that some folks want a town hall because they have a specific agenda. I'm not interested in a room of folks yelling at one another."
He said his office has responded to 60,000 constituent inquiries.
He also said he's held six telephone town halls, where aides field questions from listeners and then Smucker answers.
In response to an LNP board question about whether he will allow reporters to listen to the calls, Smucker said his office would "look at that." In late January, his office denied an initial request from LNP to listen in to his first telephone town hall.
Charlottesville violence Smucker said it was "particularly horrifying" to be visiting Holocaust memorials in Israel just a few days before white supremacists and Neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, Virginia — an incident that led to the death of one counter-protester and two state troopers.
Smucker described Trump's response to those events in multiple ways — saying the president should have been stronger, but he also deserves some credit.
"The president should have been stronger. On the other hand, he was. He made a statement initially and then the following day made a statement about both sides which I do not think accurately described what was happening there. I mean, white supremacists and KKK people are not ‘fine people,' so I think we needed a strong statement. Give him credit, he did some, but no, I think he should've been, he should have maintained that strong stance against this kind of hatred."
Trump agenda and support
Regarding Trump's overall agenda and his ability to govern, Smucker conveyed his continued support and confidence.
"When the president and the administration has engaged in policy issues that they think are important and that align with what we wanted to do, they were effective."
Still, he acknowledged "distractions" and emphasized multiple times that "we need a president focused on advancing the agenda."
An LNP reader questioned whether Smucker would denounce the president for publicly insulting people — while noting that if Smucker "talked about people like the president does, people would run you out of Lancaster County."
"I'd be run out of my family," Smucker laughed, before going on to say that he "can't speak for the president" and he doesn't know what the president is thinking when he makes some of the incendiary remarks.
In response to another reader question about whether Smucker continues to believe in the president's ability to govern, the congressman said he does.
He said he has faith in Trump's cabinet and national defense team, and "the president can be an effective leader if he focuses on advancing the agenda." He also noted that Lancaster County overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the general election.
Health care
Smucker, who voted for the House Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace plan that later failed in the Senate, said Congress cannot give up on health care reform.
He has joined a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus that in recent weeks proposed some areas of potential agreement.
Smucker said he hopes those ideas will "spur" discussions when members return to Washington in September.
He also stood by his May vote on the now-defeated bill and reiterated that he believed it covered pre-existing conditions and that it wouldn't have led to 24 million fewer people covered, as the independent Congressional Budget Office determined.
Federal budget
Smucker described the current $20 trillion national debt as a "serious threat to the future of our country" and said Congress will need to increase the debt limit this fall.
He also said "we should not shut down the government for any reason" when asked about Trump's threat to reject the budget and cause a government shutdown if Congress does not authorize money for his southern border wall.
Smucker, responding to many reader questions about whether he will hold an in-person town hall with constituents, said he has no plans to do so. But he said he will, "whenever we reach a point where we think it will be a productive way to interact."
"I've held a lot of town halls when I was in the state Senate but I've also been watching what happens in town halls across the country," Smucker said. "I understand that some folks want a town hall because they have a specific agenda. I'm not interested in a room of folks yelling at one another."
He said his office has responded to 60,000 constituent inquiries.
He also said he's held six telephone town halls, where aides field questions from listeners and then Smucker answers.
In response to an LNP board question about whether he will allow reporters to listen to the calls, Smucker said his office would "look at that." In late January, his office denied an initial request from LNP to listen in to his first telephone town hall.
Charlottesville violence Smucker said it was "particularly horrifying" to be visiting Holocaust memorials in Israel just a few days before white supremacists and Neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, Virginia — an incident that led to the death of one counter-protester and two state troopers.
Smucker described Trump's response to those events in multiple ways — saying the president should have been stronger, but he also deserves some credit.
"The president should have been stronger. On the other hand, he was. He made a statement initially and then the following day made a statement about both sides which I do not think accurately described what was happening there. I mean, white supremacists and KKK people are not ‘fine people,' so I think we needed a strong statement. Give him credit, he did some, but no, I think he should've been, he should have maintained that strong stance against this kind of hatred."
Trump agenda and support
Regarding Trump's overall agenda and his ability to govern, Smucker conveyed his continued support and confidence.
"When the president and the administration has engaged in policy issues that they think are important and that align with what we wanted to do, they were effective."
Still, he acknowledged "distractions" and emphasized multiple times that "we need a president focused on advancing the agenda."
An LNP reader questioned whether Smucker would denounce the president for publicly insulting people — while noting that if Smucker "talked about people like the president does, people would run you out of Lancaster County."
"I'd be run out of my family," Smucker laughed, before going on to say that he "can't speak for the president" and he doesn't know what the president is thinking when he makes some of the incendiary remarks.
In response to another reader question about whether Smucker continues to believe in the president's ability to govern, the congressman said he does.
He said he has faith in Trump's cabinet and national defense team, and "the president can be an effective leader if he focuses on advancing the agenda." He also noted that Lancaster County overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the general election.
Health care
Smucker, who voted for the House Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace plan that later failed in the Senate, said Congress cannot give up on health care reform.
He has joined a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus that in recent weeks proposed some areas of potential agreement.
Smucker said he hopes those ideas will "spur" discussions when members return to Washington in September.
He also stood by his May vote on the now-defeated bill and reiterated that he believed it covered pre-existing conditions and that it wouldn't have led to 24 million fewer people covered, as the independent Congressional Budget Office determined.
Federal budget
Smucker described the current $20 trillion national debt as a "serious threat to the future of our country" and said Congress will need to increase the debt limit this fall.
He also said "we should not shut down the government for any reason" when asked about Trump's threat to reject the budget and cause a government shutdown if Congress does not authorize money for his southern border wall.
Smucker said it was "particularly horrifying" to be visiting Holocaust memorials in Israel just a few days before white supremacists and Neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, Virginia — an incident that led to the death of one counter-protester and two state troopers.
Smucker described Trump's response to those events in multiple ways — saying the president should have been stronger, but he also deserves some credit.
"The president should have been stronger. On the other hand, he was. He made a statement initially and then the following day made a statement about both sides which I do not think accurately described what was happening there. I mean, white supremacists and KKK people are not ‘fine people,' so I think we needed a strong statement. Give him credit, he did some, but no, I think he should've been, he should have maintained that strong stance against this kind of hatred."
Trump agenda and support
Regarding Trump's overall agenda and his ability to govern, Smucker conveyed his continued support and confidence.
"When the president and the administration has engaged in policy issues that they think are important and that align with what we wanted to do, they were effective."
Still, he acknowledged "distractions" and emphasized multiple times that "we need a president focused on advancing the agenda."
An LNP reader questioned whether Smucker would denounce the president for publicly insulting people — while noting that if Smucker "talked about people like the president does, people would run you out of Lancaster County."
"I'd be run out of my family," Smucker laughed, before going on to say that he "can't speak for the president" and he doesn't know what the president is thinking when he makes some of the incendiary remarks.
In response to another reader question about whether Smucker continues to believe in the president's ability to govern, the congressman said he does.
He said he has faith in Trump's cabinet and national defense team, and "the president can be an effective leader if he focuses on advancing the agenda." He also noted that Lancaster County overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the general election.
Health care
Smucker, who voted for the House Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace plan that later failed in the Senate, said Congress cannot give up on health care reform.
He has joined a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus that in recent weeks proposed some areas of potential agreement.
Smucker said he hopes those ideas will "spur" discussions when members return to Washington in September.
He also stood by his May vote on the now-defeated bill and reiterated that he believed it covered pre-existing conditions and that it wouldn't have led to 24 million fewer people covered, as the independent Congressional Budget Office determined.
Federal budget
Smucker described the current $20 trillion national debt as a "serious threat to the future of our country" and said Congress will need to increase the debt limit this fall.
He also said "we should not shut down the government for any reason" when asked about Trump's threat to reject the budget and cause a government shutdown if Congress does not authorize money for his southern border wall.