{"id":2425995,"date":"2025-04-22T01:47:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T05:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/byron-donalds-defends-the-work-of-doge-in-contentious-florida-town-hall-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T01:52:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T05:52:24","slug":"byron-donalds-defends-the-work-of-doge-in-contentious-florida-town-hall-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/byron-donalds-defends-the-work-of-doge-in-contentious-florida-town-hall-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Byron Donalds defends the work of DOGE in contentious Florida town hall &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbyron-donalds-defends-the-work-of-doge-in-contentious-florida-town-hall-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2425995&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>At a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disney-ticket-price-hikes-just-kicked-in-heres-how-much-you-could-pay-for-one-day-at-magic-kingdom\/\" title=\"Disney Ticket Price Hikes Just Kicked In. Here\u2019s How Much You Could Pay For One Day At Magic Kingdom.\">recent town hall meeting<\/a> in Florida, Rep. Byron Donalds faced significant disruption from attendees as he addressed various contentious topics. The meeting, representative of broader House republican town halls, included audience members intent on criticizing Donalds and provoking interruption. <\/p>\n<p>During the event,Donalds provided detailed answers to questions regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its role in examining inefficiencies within federal spending. He faced interruptions while explaining Congress&#8217;s oversight of DOGE,emphasizing that the department is working under presidential directives to identify waste in government expenditures.<\/p>\n<p>Despite audience disruptions, Donalds remained composed, pointing out ancient context regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-hosts-lawmakers-at-mar-a-lago-heres-what-to-know\/\" title=\"Trump hosts lawmakers at Mar-a-Lago: Here\u2019s what to know\">government efficiency initiatives<\/a>, including those from former President Obama, which triggered boos from some attendees. He asserted the importance of examining government waste, citing numerous reports detailing substantial losses over the years.<\/p>\n<p>Questions also arose concerning DOGE&#8217;s access to social security files,which Donalds claimed was authorized by President Biden,further inciting audience reactions. He encouraged attendees to listen to his explanations rather than shout over them,framing the discourse as an opportunity for factual understanding amid a heated atmosphere.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Byron Donalds defends the work of DOGE in contentious Florida town hall<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2099922\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/byron-donalds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Byron Donalds<\/a> (R-FL) held a town hall on Monday night where several agitators tried to disrupt his community meeting.<\/p>\n<p>It was the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/town-hall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">town hall<\/a> hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">House Republicans<\/a>, which was met with contentious attendees looking to cause a disruption and criticize a GOP member of Congress. Donalds refuted many accusations by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/political-parties-must-address-election-complaints-by-losing-candidates-georgie-secretary-of-state\/\" title=\"Political parties must address election complaints raised by losing candidates, according to the Georgia Secretary of State.\">calmly answering questions<\/a> with detailed and informative responses. The town hall covered various topics, including questions regarding the Department of Government Efficiency, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and the war in Gaza.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3386632\/don-bacon-first-gop-lawmaker-call-to-replace-pete-hegseth-signal\/\">Don Bacon becomes first GOP lawmaker to call for Hegseth replacement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3386333\/hakeem-jeffries-pushes-back-david-hogg-call-prop-up-challengers-democratic-incumbent\/\">Jeffries pushes back on David Hogg&#8217;s call to prop up Democratic incumbent challengers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3384518\/ken-paxton-texas-ethics-laws-senate-campaign-launch\/\">Ken Paxton may have run afoul of Texas ethics laws with Senate campaign launch<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;What oversights are you imposing on Elon Musk in DOGE?&rdquo; asked a town hall audience member.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Great question,&rdquo; Donalds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news-press.com\/videos\/news\/2025\/04\/22\/congressman-byron-donalds-hosts-spirited-town-hall-in-estero\/83206140007\/\">replied<\/a>. &ldquo;Oversight from Congress, that&rsquo;s much more of an appropriation&rsquo;s aspect. &ldquo;What DOGE is doing right now, is they&rsquo;re going through every agency, and they&rsquo;re examining any contracts or any lack of efficiencies in spending federal dollars.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There was a disruption from the audience as Donalds continued his answer.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is something that,&rdquo; Donalds said before addressing some people shouting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to answer you, but if you want to yell, that&rsquo;s okay, but I just want to answer you,&rdquo; Donalds said in response to the disruption. &ldquo;Are you going to allow me to answer the question?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Answer it,&rdquo; multiple people shouted from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So, like I said, what they are doing is under the directions of the president of the United States,&rdquo; Donalds said. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to talk about what oversight is doing, we actually have to let the DOGE committee, the DOGE department, actually finish its work. What they are examining right now is inefficiency in the federal system. This is something that President Obama wanted to do when President Obama was in office.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Several members of the audience were not pleased with Donalds bringing up former President Barack Obama and began to boo him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You can boo if you want to, but those are the facts,&rdquo; Donalds said. &ldquo;If you go back in time to 2009, then-President Obama famously said that he wanted to examine efficiencies or lack thereof in the federal government. Elon Musk is doing the exact same thing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Donalds&rsquo;s response was met with cheers and jeers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the last thing,&rdquo; Donalds said. &ldquo;There is a report that comes out every single year. This is the GAO report. The GAO report, every single year, has said that the federal government wastes more than $250 billion per year &ndash; $250 billion. Over the last 20 years, the federal government has wasted $3 trillion. I believe that it&rsquo;s in the interest of the people of Southwest Florida and the United States to examine all inefficiencies in the federal government.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Later, someone asked Donalds a question about DOGE &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">invading social security files<\/a>.&rdquo; The question was met with loud cheers from the audience. Donalds answered, claiming that doing so was authorized by the president of the United States. This was also met with boos from the crowd. However, he did not specify which president, and that answer surprised many in the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t boo,&rdquo; Donalds said coyly. &ldquo;Are you ready? The previous president, President Biden.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This, too, was met with yelling, shouting, and booing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Oh, so you don&rsquo;t want to hear the whole story,&rdquo; Donalds said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want you to yell and not hear the whole story.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Do you want to yell or do you want to hear?&rdquo; Donalds asked the dissenters in the audience. &ldquo;Because if you want to hear, I&rsquo;m trying to give you information. I told you, I&rsquo;m going to be factual, but you can yell or you can hear.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/3378225\/judge-allows-immigration-enforcement-ice-religious-spaces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FEDERAL JUDGE ALLOWS IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN RELIGIOUS SPACES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For the people who are upset with Elon Musk, was it okay when 53 students had the same access to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pa-sec-of-state-refuses-to-say-hed-catch-noncitizens-voting\/\" title=\"PA Sec. Of State Refuses To Say He&#039;d Catch Noncitizens Voting\">social security database<\/a>,&rdquo; Donalds said. &ldquo;Was it ok then?&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is intellectually dishonest to be upset with Elon Musk, but not upset with the 53 students who had similar access under the Biden administration,&rdquo; noted Donalds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2099922\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2099922\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Byron Donalds defends DOGE amid disruptions at Florida town hall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2425996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25034742274085.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32322,23466,5113,5894,38665],"class_list":["post-2425995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-byron-donalds","tag-doge","tag-florida","tag-politics","tag-town-hall"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25034742274085.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2425995"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2425999,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425995\/revisions\/2425999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2425996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2425995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2425995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2425995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}