King town hall draws over 100 in Eagle Grove

            District 4 U.S. Representative Steve King (R-IA) packed the hall last Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Eagle Grove. The engagement was part of King’s 39 county tour as he works to visit all of the counties in district. The town hall came just a few weeks after King again made national news headlines for controversial comments. King faces Republican primary challengers for his seat as the 2020 election approaches.

            Overall, this meeting was rather tame compared to others he has held across the state. King gave general comments about a few hot-button issues and then took several questions. Major topics covered included the following:

            Trade

            King discussed theUSMCA, which refers to the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Already signed by President Donald Trump, the bill's next stop is the U.S. House of Representatives, and King said he’s ready to pass it right now. He noted though that Democrats are stalling it and the vote could stretch out into January.

            He also said the deal could bring leverage on a Chinese trade agreement. He discussed how Chinese piracy of intellectual property is a big concern. At one point, an attendee from Eagle Grove asked why voters should put him back into office since the trade issues with China are hurting corn and bean prices. King said that while he didn’t necessarily advocate the Trump administration initiating the trade war, they can’t back down now. He added that the U.S. would benefit from building relationships with other trade partners besides China, such as Taiwan.

For the full story, see this week's Monitor.