CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. -- Virginia's senior U.S. Senator Mark Warner met with local leaders and neighbors on Chincoteague on Friday afternoon. While local issues got some attention, most of the comments focused on national topics.
After his opening remarks, Senator Warner opened the floor for a Q&A. Dozens of neighbors used their chance to speak in front of the Democratic lawmaker to criticize President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
"Things that have happened recently in the Oval Office, I find embarrassing that a president would do," said one neighbor.
"I've come to calling the Republican Party the party of cruelty," said another.
Many concerns centered around President Trump's proposed budget, which passed the House by a single vote on Thursday morning.
Senator Warner said he heard the crowd loud and clear.
"They're frustrated with these cuts that Mr. Trump had proposed and what it's going to do to the local community," said Warner. "I think this bill that came out of the House is awful; I think it will hurt communities in ways that are, frankly, unprecedented."
Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden expected the meeting to focus more on local issues, but she tells WBOC she isn't shocked that it turned toward national topics.
"People just want to be heard," said Bowden. "They want to be heard on our level, they want to be heard on the state level, the federal level."
One of the major local topics discussed was Assateague Island. Potential cuts to the National Park Service have created an uncertain future for the lifeguards employed by the NPS.
Bowden stressed the importance of keeping the beach safe.
"With as many people that visit Assateague Island in the summertime, just like this weekend, and not have lifeguards, that's crazy," said Bowden. "It doesn't make sense on paper, it doesn't make sense in the true nature of things."
Both Bowden and Warner emphasized the importance of solving these concerns at the federal level, something both officials said will only happen in a bipartisan fashion.