Tensions Boil Over at Rich McCormick’s Town Hall as Voters Demand Answers

Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick returned to his home district Thursday night, greeted by a packed and hostile crowd at Roswell City Hall.

With attendance exceeding capacity, city officials opened overflow rooms. Residents spilled into the City Hall rotunda and even onto the front steps, eager to confront their representative. Despite the effort, many were turned away due to fire code regulations.

A Fiery Exchange

McCormick faced passionate—and often hostile—questions, responding in kind. At one point, he made it clear he was under no obligation to be there.

“There is no law that says Congressman McCormick has to stand here in front of you,” he told the crowd, met with a chorus of heckles.

McCormick, a member of the government’s AI task force, had planned to discuss artificial intelligence. But his constituents weren’t interested. Each attempt to steer the conversation toward AI was drowned out by boos and shouts.

His answers were lengthy and circular, often prompting frustration from the crowd. At one point, an exasperated constituent shouted, “Just say yes or no!”

School Lunches

National attention followed McCormick after a CNN interview where he suggested teenagers should work in fast food restaurants instead of relying on school lunch programs.

One resident pressed him further, asking, if he really thought five year olds should be picking berries to afford school lunches.

McCormick pushed back on the phrasing of the question before clarifying that he was talking about teenagers. “I think that a teenager sitting home during high school who can go to work and has the ability and the opportunity, should.”

When asked directly if he supported cutting school lunch funding, McCormick said, “No, I don’t think that we should cut school lunches for needy kids.”

Musk, DOGE, and the Power of Influence

By far, the hottest topic of the night was Elon Musk’s influence and concerns over cuts by DOGE.

Rather than address the issue directly, McCormick pivoted to a history lesson on government audits and classified information. His response left many unsatisfied.

“For about one hour, one person had more access than they were supposed to,” he said. “He didn’t do anything with it, and then they closed the loop.”

Congressional Power and January 6 Comparisons

Residents also criticized McCormick for not standing up for Congress’ ‘power of the purse’—the constitutional authority to control federal spending. Some accused him of failing to push back against Donald Trump’s attempts to override congressional authority.

McCormick’s response? He punted to the courts. “Many of those issues will be litigated.” The crowd jeered.

At one point, McCormick compared the angry and shouting constituents before him to the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The comment only fueled the crowd’s outrage.

Women’s Right to Vote

A constituent questioned McCormick’s support of the SAVE Act, which requires a voter’s name on their birth certificate to match their driver’s license. If enforced literally, it could prevent women who changed their last name after marriage from voting.

McCormick said he wasn’t worried about women voting and suggested there were other solutions that were digital-based.

Pressed on the potential consequences, he said, “I’m happy to review what it says.” McCormick is one of the sponsors of the bill.

Checks and Balances

One resident called Trump a ‘tyrant’ and a ‘megalomaniac’, demanding to know how McCormick and his Republican colleagues planned to keep him in check.

McCormick dismissed the question with a quip— comparing the resident to the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn— before pivoting to a generic comparison to concerns Republicans had about Joe Biden. The remark drew more boos.

Disagreements With Trump

For all the heated back-and-forth, there were moments where McCormick broke from Trump’s positions:

• On Ukraine: “I stand firmly with NATO— I have repeatedly spoken up on this and I have voted for Ukraine support every single time.”
• On Executive Power: “I don’t like presidential power to be the overriding authority, whether it’s Democrats or Republicans.”
• On Tariffs: “I want to see no tariffs—I disagree with most tariffs.”

See For Yourself: You can watch the Town Hall in its entirety below.

🇺🇸 About Representing You: This is an ongoing series of news stories devoted to how the officials elected and appointed to represent you are voting, how they are spending their time and your tax dollars, and allowing you to better determine if you feel they are actually representing you or their own interests.