Baumgartner gets warm welcome at first town hall as Eastern Washington’s Congressman

Back in Spokane after being sworn in, Michael Baumgartner got a warm reception at his first town hall as a congressman.

About 50 constituents crowded into a meeting room at the North Spokane Library Saturday to hear from their elected official and voice their views. The Republican praised the orderly transition of power he saw in the first days of his term – a stark contrast from the attack on the Capitol four years prior.

“It was good. It was orderly. It was peaceful. And credit to everyone who was there,” he said of Congress’ Jan. 6 affirmation of Donald Trump’s electoral college victory. “It was good for our republic that Kamala Harris who just lost the election was up there and presided over the count.”

Baumgartner will serve on three congressional committees in his first term, Education and Workforce, Judiciary and Foreign Affairs.

With House leadership and all of Washington soon to be under Republican control, Baumgartner laid out the priorities of his caucus. In their first few months, Republicans plan to renew tax cuts passed during President Trump’s first term, pass a border security bill and a new farm bill.

Constituent questions at the event centered on corruption in Washington – pushing Baumgartner on his positions on campaign finance reform and congressional term limits. The new congressman promised to fight for term limits and to reform campaign finance laws to prevent noncitizens from donating to political candidates.

“There is some evidence that there was bundling of foreign money and foreign entities because it’s illegal for foreigners to donate, and I don’t think any of us want any election influenced by folks that aren’t Americans,” he said.

A focus of Baumgartner in his presentation was his efforts to limit federal spending and cut the deficit. Such reforms are not likely in the near future because both parties want to continue to spend, he added.

“Neither President Trump nor President Biden campaigned loudly on the national debt or about spending reform,” he said. “The reality is we have $37 trillion in debt.”

The possibility of cuts to certain programs faced pushback from Darci Lewis, whose daughter Zo Osbourne has intellectual disabilities and uses Medicaid to receive care.

“We need to get Zoe the best care that she can get and to other folks like her. We do that by bringing some reform to the system that can save on cost in terms of how Medicaid is being used,” Baumgartner told Lewis.

“Our task is to make sure that that folks like Zoe get the best care that they can get. And then we also address Medicaid in a responsible way so it’s around you know for future generations,” he added.

Asked what she thought of his answer, Lewis said she may “disagree how Medicaid can be improved,” but she is looking forward to an open dialogue on the issue.

“I was honestly very impressed by how bipartisan he seemed today,” she said.

The congressman also fielded questions from those who disagreed on his foreign policy positions. Asked by a constituent if he would stop funding to the wars in Israel and Ukraine, Baumgartner said U.S. involvement in the world often has a purpose.

“The idea that we’re going to spend spread democracy too, as a means to defeat Islamic terrorism, was not a great strategy in the sense it was extremely expensive and it cost American lives. By the same token, we cannot be isolationists and have the same quality of life and freedoms that we have here,” Baumgartner said. “I do think it’s important that Vladimir Putin be unsuccessful in Ukraine, and I don’t want my kids fighting World War III.”

Tristan Mospan was likely the youngest constituent to attend the town hall. The 22-year-old felt like Baumgartner heard his voice and he wished more people his age would take the opportunity to interact with elected officials.

“If people just show up, politicians will listen. They may not do everything you want. But I feel like so many people my age have no interest in politics. There’s this general apathy. But if you show up, you get a voice,” he said.

Baumgartner promised more town halls over the next two years of his first term. It hasn’t opened, but his Spokane office will be located on the first floor of Schade Tower, 528 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. Call his congressional office at (202) 225-2006.