Rep. Figures feels support, hears worries at his first Mobile town hall meeting
It was a packed house that offered a warm greeting for new District 2 congressman Shomari Figures, at a time when many Capitol Hill lawmakers are getting less than warm receptions from their constituents, some struggling with recent Trump administration job and budget cuts.
"I think they're here because people are concerned about what's going on,” says Figures. “I think people want to know what's going on in Washington, what we see, and I think people want to know what we're doing in Washington to keep their interests first in the city and in Mobile County."
But the crowd Monday night at Mobile’s Bishop State Community College proved to be a friendly one for Shomari Figures, but one not hesitant to voice their concerns.
Among the topics... insecurity about Social Security, aid to those struggling to make ends meet and the elimination of federal jobs as well as research grants.
"We were eating dinner,” one audience member recounted to Figures, “and I got my suspension notification. And the reason given for the termination is that it was a convenience for the United States.
The flights happened anyway, leading to questions about presidential powers and the rule of law. Figures had this to say just moments prior to the meeting.
"Look,” Figures tells NBC 15 News, “we've heard some rumblings coming out of this administration before, including some from senior officials about the reticence to comply with federal court orders. So, sad as it is to say it's not surprising. But hopefully we can get back to a time where federal court authority means something and even the president is one that doesn't consider himself above the law."
That presidential power and how it's being used was at the heart of most questions asked tonight... fears about voter suppression, and those controversial tariffs.
"When you're going to use weapons like tariffs,” says the congressman, “ they have to be don strategically, they have to be done in a manner that's likely to produce the results that you want and I don't think this administration has taken the time to think through those in a reasonable fashion."
But it was a question about agriculture and food availability that provided one of the most provocative answers from the new congressman, who painted a potentially bleak outlook for those who depend on SNAP benefits to feed their families.
"We know right now that, along with big pieces of the budget they are going to cut, is SNAP benefits. We know that. We are about to see some cuts to SNAP that are probably going to blow your mind."
Figures, in his first term in congress, is serving on the House Transportation and infrastructure committee and the house agriculture committee.