The following is a constituent letter sent by Senator Testor on Feb 11, 2017.
This week I had the honor of meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House where I personally delivered a message to him that came directly from Montanans who have been calling, emailing and writing me.
During our productive conversation, I made one thing very clear to President Trump: I will work with him when I can, and hold him accountable when I must.
I urged the President to work with me to ban all members of Congress and certain Executive Branch officials from lobbying for five years after leaving civil service. The President and I share this priority, and together I think we can take major steps to clean up Washington and rid it of special interests.
A major part of my job is to hold the administration accountable and work with federal agencies to ensure that Montanans are getting timely answers from their government. That is why I made it clear to the President that his communication ban that is forcing federal agencies like Medicare to ignore Congressional inquiries, is hurting Montana seniors. The President indicated that he will reconsider his communication ban, and I will hold him to that commitment.
Additionally, I raised concerns about the President’s hiring freeze and its impact on veterans. I have heard from veterans across Montana who are very concerned about this. I told President Trump that he needs to exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze so we can ensure veterans are getting the timely care they deserve.
Finally, I urged the President to stick to his word and protect our public lands. I told him I will hold him and the next Interior Secretary accountable to upholding their commitment to NOT transfer or sell our public lands.
It is my job to make sure that President Trump understands the issues facing Montanans, and that is why I made it clear to him during our meeting that I will give him room to succeed, I will work with him when it benefits our state, and I will provide an important check and balance if he pushes policies that are bad for this country.
As always, it is an honor to serve you.
