Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER – Congresswoman Jackie Walorski touted her growing access to President Donald Trump on tariff issues Thursday night during the keynote address before Republicans in Kosciusko County.
Walorski, seeking her fourth term as the 2nd Congressional District representative, said her concerns over tariffs have earned her a seat at the table with Trump and told of two meetings she had with him that afforded her the opportunity to express concerns about the impact tariffs are having in Indiana.
She cast herself as a strong supporter of Trump’s trade tactics with China, but at the same time, has voiced concerns over a lack “of fairness that could eventually cost Hoosiers jobs.”
She told of a meeting at the White House in which she was invited to represent the House concerns over tariffs. At one point, she said Trump wanted to know what was on her mind.
“I thinking to myself, ‘I’ve waited like 55 years to tell the president of the United States what’s on my mind,” she said, drawing laughs from the crowd assembled at the Owl’s Nest for the annual GOP Hall of Fame dinner.
Another opportunity to talk tariffs with Trump came after she was invited to ride on Air Force One during Trump’s visit to Elkhart earlier this year.
She took the opportunity to pitch what she called 10 “common sense” fixes on trade to make it more fair, accountable and transparent, but did not detail the proposals.
The following day, she talked with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “By using our leverage with the president, we got five of those issues with the Secretary the next day,”
Walorski said.
She credited Trump with fueling a strong economy and using a peace-through-strength approach to world affairs.
She urged voters to double down on Nov. 6 to protect Republican control the U.S. House and Senate.
Republican leadership, she said, has helped Trump to put a “check” next to just about every promise he made as a candidate two years ago.
“There is no other nation on the face of the Earth more powerful or more successful when we are in sync – and we are in synch.”
The Elkhart County resident faces Democrat Mel Hall on Election
Day next month, but avoided using his name and spent twice as much time during her 21-minute address talking about Trump.
She did take a few shots at Hall, saying he admitted to be pro-choice during a debate in South Bend Tuesday.
She seized on the fact Hall is a former pastor and that voters should be motivated by Hall’s stance on abortion at a time when talk of repealing Roe v. Wade is picking up steam.
“This is a fight for life. It’s protecting the unborn. It’s standing up and knowing that our country is being transformed right now by Supreme Court judges who are conservative,” Walorski said.
Walorski painted Hall as a self-funded candidate, and claimed Hall worked in Washington D.C., as a lobbyist, lived in a luxury apartment and played golf at a club that prohibits women.
“While he was living his lifestyle, doing his thing, I was here fighting for Hoosiers. I was fighting for veterans to make sure they got care. I was fighting for sexual assault victims, both in the military and in civilian life as well,” she said.
Meanwhile, Republicans named their annual hall of fame recipients. Jean Northenor, a former county party chairperson who developed the hall of fame dinner tradition decades ago, announced Rebecca Kubacki and Randy Girod as this year’s choices.
Kubacki is a former state representative and Girod is a former party chairman and county prosecutor.
GOP chairman Mike Ragan said both have been key in providing on-going support to the local party operations.
