Many North Dakotans are demanding that our state's federal delegation hold town hall meetings to take questions about the extraordinary beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in office.

I've called for town halls, too.

Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak joined this episode of Plain Talk, and while that's not a town hall, she did take some questions on the topics that are motivating those calls for town halls.

Like the administration's antagonistic and mercurial approach to relations with our northern neighbors in Canada. "I don't know what President Trump's position on Canada is right now either," she said, echoing a similar sentiment from North Dakota Farmer's Union President Mark Watne.

"I can't control Trump's tariff approach, right?" she continued. "He's going to do that."

She did say that Trump's approach is "not my style" and that she's "more about solutions."

Fedorchak also took questions about the DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency, arguing that there is waste and fraud in the federal government and that a shakeup was needed. Still, she indicated that the approach gives her pause. "You can disagree with how they manage it. I'm not defending them," she said. "They don't work for me. They work for President Trump."

Fedorchak also expressed support for interacting with constituents. "I agree with you on the the need for constant communication with constituents and I have been doing that since day one," she said, listing numerous open-pto-the-public events she's held with various interest groups. But she argued that these interactions should be "back and forth, hearing from constituents, delivering answers, facing questions, not uh, waving signs and shouting everybody down."

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the ugly new revelations about former state Sen. Ray Holmberg's repugnant activities, and the sometimes partisan reaction to them, as well as the latest from the legislative session.

This episode is presented by Lignite Energy Council, an organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the development of North Dakota’s abundant lignite resources. Their goal is to maintain a viable lignite coal industry and support the generation of electricity, synthetic natural gas, and valuable byproducts. Visit Lignite.com to connect and learn more.

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