“You don’t get to do this to us,” yelled one constituent.

During a town hall meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., faced a barrage of criticism from constituents concerned about the government cuts proposed by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The atmosphere was particularly charged when the topic of staffing cuts at the Veterans Affairs (VA) was raised.

“How do you justify cuts to staff of the VA helping veterans, especially those with long term care needs,” asked one constituent, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

Edwards attempted to clarify, “So first of all, there have been no cuts to the staff at VA as of this point. Like him or not, Elon Musk has brought a lot of really smart people,” but his response was met with boos. This response came despite an internal VA memo earlier this month indicating plans to lay off 80,000 employees.

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The meeting escalated to the point where Edwards had to be escorted out due to the hostility.

“You don’t get to do this to us,” another constituent shouted as tensions ran high.

Amidst growing concerns over safety and effectiveness, Republican leadership has advised against in-person town halls. Despite this, Edwards chose to engage directly with his constituents.

“You see a lot of advice in Washington, D.C. from different folks saying, you know, ‘Republicans shouldn’t be out there doing town halls,’ and I’m thinking ‘why not?’ I love the people,” Edwards explained.

The Trump administration, with support from figures like Elon Musk, is making significant cuts across the federal workforce, affecting various departments including Veteran Affairs, the IRS, and the Department of Education. Musk’s recent split from the White House and his comments on potential cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security have sparked further concern.

“The waste and fraud in entitlement spending, which is all of the, which is most of the federal spending is entitlements, so that’s like the big one to eliminate,” Musk stated, intensifying public worry.

At the town hall, another constituent pressed on the issue of Social Security, “What are you doing to ensure the protection of our Social Security benefits,” which was met with applause.

Edwards reassured the crowd, “I’m not going to vote to dissolve your Social Security. I’m not looking to disrupt Social Security at all.”