ST. GEORGE — It was standing room only in the St. George City Council Chambers as Rep. Chris Stewart spoke to hundreds of constituents at a Wednesday evening town hall meeting.

Following a brief introduction and an invitation for questions and comments from attendees, Stewart engaged with local residents and shared his thoughts on everything from water security to foreign policy to immigration and inflation.

In comments offered less than an hour before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Stewart predicted military escalation seemingly would unfold in slow motion.

“Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he considers the greatest catastrophe of the previous century was the fall of the Soviet Union,” Stewart said. “Now, he said he will rebuild that. Do I think he’s going to go into Poland and the Baltics? No, not right now, but his risk appetite in Ukraine is enormous and his interest in Ukraine is unparalleled.”

Because of his position on the House Intelligence Committee, Stewart was privy to information on Russia’s growing aggression as early as October, he said. The course of action he recommended at Wednesday’s meeting – though he said it may already be too late – was to support and arm Ukrainian citizens in their efforts to resist Russian invaders.

Stewart said Russia would not be able to sustain a lengthy occupation and said the U.S. should learn from the mistakes made in its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“I would never support sending U.S. soldiers into Ukraine to fight Russia,” Stewart said. “And we won’t, I really don’t believe we will. They (Russia) will take military casualties in an invasion or a war, but you can’t sustain casualties week after week after week by bloody occupation.”

In a rare case of bipartisan consensus, President Biden announced that the U.S. would not commit troops to the conflict but would instead send additional troops to strengthen the borders of NATO allies near Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have also promised further sanctions on Russian economic activities.

While pressing matters of foreign policy were among the issues discussed at the town hall meeting, there were several topics closer to home that also dominated the evening meeting.

Election integrity and accountability

Distrust in the results of the 2020 election was another theme of the meeting, with some calling for audits even at the state level. Stewart said he believes this responsibility should rest with state officials, and that everything he’s seen has given him a high degree of confidence in Utah’s election process. 

However, Stewart said he remains suspicious of the voting procedures in several battleground states. One attendee asked the congressman whether he agreed that Biden was the legally, lawfully and honestly elected president of the United States, to which Stewart replied, “I do.”

Stewart’s affirmation drew groans and boos from some members of the crowd, though scattered applause also greeted his response. He asked for the opportunity to elaborate further and reminded attendees he voted against certifying the results of the Pennsylvania electoral voting because of concerns with the state’s procedures.

“Our Constitution mandates that state legislatures have the authority to regulate their elections, (but) Pennsylvania did not do that,” he said. “They had regulators who went in to change every rule beyond anything they have the capability to do. That’s why I voted against the certifying Pennsylvania elections.”

When another participant said Stewart’s concerns should have led him to reject Biden’s authority, Stewart responded that Pennsylvania alone would not have changed the outcome of the election.

While the majority of the gathered audience expressed approval of Stewart’s statements with applause and cheers, the congressman was challenged by several attendees on his voting record and alleged inaction on issues of importance. 

In response, Stewart said the Democratic majority in the Legislature and a Democratic president had frustrated the Republican agenda, but he was confident that restoring a Republican majority in the 2022 elections would allow the party to make progress on its priorities.

“We will do everything we can do … (but) the filibuster in the Senate will still be there after 2022,” he said. “The thing we can do is stop some of the stuff that I think is nonsense. It’s kind of good news, bad news – we’ll be able to stop some of the worst stuff, but until we take the presidency in 2024 it’ll be hard for us to move in a positive direction.”

Inflation and immigration

Domestic policy, including economics and border security, took up the bulk of the remainder of the meeting. Inflation was top of mind for many attendees that spoke, asking Stewart for his plans and policies on the topic.

Stewart told St. George News he’s been concerned with rising inflation because it’s affecting every American and inflicts disproportionate harm on middle-class and impoverished citizens.

“The most important thing the federal government can do is quit spending trillions and trillions of dollars,” Stewart said. “That is the main driver behind inflation. It’s clearly entirely federal policy, and it’s the single most important thing they can do by far.”

The congressman promised he would continue to try and cut government spending and reduce existing budgets rather than just slowing the rate of growth.

Another primary concern voiced by residents at the town hall meeting was the Biden administration’s stance on immigration. Stewart said he firmly opposed Biden’s approach and favored the measures practiced under the Trump administration.

“The good news is we know how to fix it,” Stewart said. “If you’re concerned about 2 million people crossing the border, we know how to fix it because we did fix it. It’s the remain in Mexico policy and the other things that the previous administration implemented. If you’re concerned about $30 trillion in debt, that’s the reason I ran for Congress.”

Local issues and other topics

Near the end of his remarks, Stewart outlined several Southern-Utah specific initiatives he supports, including the preservation of tortoise habitat, construction of the Northern Corridor and continuation of fish and water projects along the Virgin River.

After several local residents expressed concerns about the ongoing drought and the growing demand for water, Stewart said the area would need to rely on divine intervention to see more moisture in the short term.

“I understand the depth of the deficit in water and the drought … but the only way we’re going to fix that is with God’s help,” he said.

One participant expressed support for desalination plants, which Stewart said he would support if they proved to be economically viable. The solution he offered as his preference would be constructing more dams to store water for local use.

Another attendee asked how Stewart felt about the planned “Freedom Convoy” of American truckers following in the footsteps of Canadian demonstrators. Stewart responded by condemning the response from the Canadian government and the actions of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and expressed his support for similar demonstrations in the U.S.

“Last week when the Super Bowl was on someone asked me who I was cheering for, and I said, ‘The Canadian truckers,’” he said. “If there’s a trucker rally in D.C., I’m going to be sitting in the cab of one. I hope they go back to D.C. and make some trouble.”

Stewart currently is serving in his fifth term as a congressman and previously announced his intent to seek a sixth term. When asked about his stance on term limits, Stewart said he has always supported term limits and suggested a 12-year limit for representatives and senators.

“The last thing I want to do is spend 30 years in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Believe me, my wife would shoot me if I didn’t (leave) because she’s said there’s no way in the world we’re staying back there in DC any longer.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.