Another Republican congressman has provoked fury from fired federal workers by telling them that "God has a plan" for their lives.
At a town hall meeting in Missouri Monday, GOP representative Mark Alford drew angry shouts of opposition from a dozens-strong crowd as he tried to defend Donald Trump sweeping government cutbacks.
It was the latest in a series of riotous town halls in red districts across the U.S. where voters expressed their frustration about Trump's policies, as well as the influence of Elon Musk.
Those reports — encompassing Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin, and beyond — were a sign of gathering anger at Trump's radical seizure of power and near-demolition of entire government departments.
"Just because you have a government job, doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court," Alford scolded his constituents on the outskirts of Kansas City, according to the local St. Joseph News-Press.
"So I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available. God has a plan and purpose for your life."
The last remark reportedly triggered an incandescent response, with one person screaming: "We don't want your god!" and another shouting: "Our god is Christian!"
As the heckling mounted, Alford said: "Government employees are going to be let go and that’s just the reality. I feel bad that people have been let go, I understand that."
Asked about whether he would support cuts or changes to Medicaid, he said he believed there were "some things that can be reformed,” provoking even more shouts, including: "Do it through Congress, not Elon!"
At one point, the congressman reportedly attempted to quiet things down by saying: "Can I have your attention, please? Class? Class?" One person yelled back: "You work for us!"
According to the Office of Personnel Management, about 75,000 federal employees had accepted a buyout offer as of February 12, on top of an estimated 20,000 layoffs across multiple departments.
In Georgia last Thursday, Republican representative Rich McCormick got a hostile reception from voters who asked him what he was doing to "reign in the megalomaniac in the White House.”
In Idaho on Saturday, a Republican meeting descended into chaos when a protestor was pulled from her seat, wrestled to the ground and dragged out of a packed auditorium by three unidentified private security guards.
Many of the hostile comments and questions came from Democrats and independents, though not all.
The numbers have suggested a level of motivation among blue voters reminiscent of the early stages of the Tea Party movement against Barack Obama in 2009.
"I wake up every single day just wondering if I have a job tomorrow," one woman who works for the Social Security Administration in Kansas City told the News-Press. "This is hurting, and I think he was kind of dismissive."
