Since first winning election last fall, freshman Republican Congressman Ben Cline has been working his way through Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, with the goal of holding town hall meetings in all of its 19 cities and counties. On Wednesday evening, Cline visited Amherst County to talk about his first months in office and answer residents’ questions. WMRA's Andrew Jenner reports.
Cline began by talking about the bills he’s introduced, including the Notify ICE Act, which would require that the national background check system tell ICE whenever someone is prevented from buying a gun because they aren’t in the country legally. That measure passed the House as an amendment to a larger gun control bill. He also told the crowd of around 40 people about the principles that guide him through the bright lights and ballyhoo of Washington.
BEN CLINE: And that’s what’s frustrating me the most, is the fact that Washington is so bogged down in politics, so tied down by political brinksmanship. People say it’s the swamp, I say it’s the circus, because it’s a show.
In the Q&A that followed, several people asked Cline about the Mueller report. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, he’s directly involved in the ongoing political battles it’s sparked.
CLINE: It’s an interesting read, and I think everyone should read it. But it doesn’t all fit into a box that determines one way or the other which way we go, because there’s a lot of questions out there.
Cline highlighted two major takeaways from Mueller’s report: that Russia made a concerted effort to interfere in the 2016 election, but that the Trump campaign did not conspire in that effort.
CLINE: I’m glad that they found that, and I think that every American should be glad.
Afterwards, Cline said the report’s findings do not affect his support for President Trump.
CLINE: I think that his record is one of success. It’s invigorating the economy, it’s helping to create jobs, helping people to keep more of what they have earned in terms of their income and not giving it back to the government. He’s slashing regulations, helping businesses and I think that that’s showing in the great economy that we’ve got.
Cline’s next town hall will be in Shenandoah County, at 8am on Monday, June 3rd in Woodstock.
