WASHINGTON, DC (Mike Osborne) -- In an odd political twist, two members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation have expressed out-of-character reactions to President Donald Trump’s firing Monday of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board Chairman.
President Trump blasted TVA Monday for hiring “foreign” contract workers. He also complained that the board chair’s $8 million salary was excessive.
TVA facilities provide electricity to Tennessee and parts of six other southern states.
In his response to the firing, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander agreed with President Trump that TVA’s hiring of overseas workers showed “poor judgment.”
However, Alexander, who is generally supportive of his fellow Republican, went on to note TVA electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. He also argued that executive salaries at TVA are lower than those at most large utilities. The Senator made similar comments in April, accusing the White House of spreading misinformation about TVA.
Congressman Steve Cohen also reacted to the TVA chairman’s expulsion. The West Tennessee Democrat agreed with Trump that failing to keep jobs stateside was a mistake and that the chairman’s salary was excessive.
Cohen has been an outspoken critic of President Trump since his inauguration, blasting the president in near daily social media broadsides. Cohen was one of the first House members to call for the president’s impeachment.
