Hagedorn says he’s ‘a conservative reinforcement’ in Congress

Jun. 23--In January, Blue Earth Republican Jim Hagedorn followed in the footsteps of his father to become a U.S. representative for southern Minnesota.

Since then, he's championed conservative causes and supported President Donald Trump's agenda as a minority member of the House of Representatives. Hagedorn's worked with Democrats on a variety of smaller bills, but has reinforced his right-leaning roots on major issues.

"I'm totally humbled to be a servant of the people of southern Minnesota," Hagedorn said. "I promised people, especially in the campaign, that if elected I would be a conservative reinforcement in Congress."

Hagedorn's approach to Congress isn't typically found in Minnesota. The longtime conservative pushes further right than his fellow Minnesota Republicans on several issues, and he stands with Trump on almost every issue even when some of his conservative allies hold back their support.

All that means the lifelong Republican is building a reputation as a staunch conservative in Congress from a politically purple district, just as Democrats are targeting him in advance of next year's election.

Ready to serve

Hagedorn grew up near Truman, the son of former Rep. Tom Hagedorn. He graduated from Georgetown University and worked for almost two decades at the U.S. Treasury Department, during which time he helped craft a variety of bills to streamline government.

He's made no secret of his at-times aggressive right-wing politics, and he developed a reputation for being a conservative firebrand on the campaign trail since he first ran for Congress in 2010. While he lost to then-U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in 2014 and 2016, Hagedorn had enough support from Republicans in the election Donald Trump won to warrant a successful 2018 campaign.

Yet Hagedorn's victory wasn't as decisive as Republicans would like. He beat Dan Feehan, a former Pentagon official who lives in North Mankato, by about 1,300 votes out of almost 300,000 cast in one of the most narrow wins of the 2018 election.

As a result, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Hagedorn to its list of top targets in 2020.

Hagedorn's fortunes could ride on how many southern Minnesotans support Trump come fall 2020. Hagedorn has pointed out he took up many positions Trump supports before Trump became a conservative force, including reducing the amount of Muslim refugees coming to the U.S. and putting up more restrictions for people to cross the U.S.-Mexican border.

Hagedorn has voted in step with Trump's positions more than 93 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.

In the meantime, Hagedorn looks to work on a variety of issues he believes will help southern Minnesotans. Thus far, he's co-sponsored more than 61 bills in Congress, from bills targeting abortion rights to helping Navy veterans exposed to Agent Orange get Veterans Affairs benefits.

Hagedorn plans to introduce four bills in the coming weeks, each dealing with tax relief in some form for young adults.

One bill would tweak certain kinds of education savings accounts to be used for vocational training and apprenticeships, among other things. Another would allow people to use pretax income to pay off federal student loans, while a third wouldn't tax 18- to 30-year-olds on the first $20,000 of their annual income.

Hagedorn declined to elaborate on a fourth bill he's planning, as he's working with Trump administration officials to refine it. But he said it would follow along the same lines as the other bills he's planning to author.

"In these cases it's always about empowering people to take responsibility for their own lives, giving them discretion to spend their own money," he said.

The politics game

As a member of the House minority, Hagedorn is seeking to build bipartisan support for his bills.

And he says Democrats and Republicans work close together and are even more personable than what people see on TV or in the media.

Despite that, Hagedorn has taken partisan stances on several major issues. He voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act earlier this year, largely due to some of the updates Democrats wanted in the bill. That included a provision to ban people convicted of domestic abuse from obtaining guns, including non-live in boyfriends, and providing some transgender protections.

Hagedorn said he would have voted to reauthorize the act, first passed in 1994, on its own.

He also supports the provision to ban people convicted of domestic abuse from owning guns. Yet he said there were too many extra items attached to the bill and would have overextended taking away gun rights from people accused of domestic-related crimes.

"There's the mere allegation and there's not a due process that people have to go through," Hagedorn said.

Two other Minnesota representatives, Collin Peterson and Tom Emmer, also voted against the bill.

Hagedorn has also supported efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and outlaw abortion, including recent efforts to ban what conservatives term "late-term abortions."

The issue revolves around claims some abortions are performed very late in a mother's pregnancy, or could take place after birth. Trump has used the issue as a rallying cry among conservatives.

Medical experts challenge late-term abortion claims. More than 90 percent of abortions are done during the first three months of a pregnancy, while about one percent of abortions are done after 24 weeks. Those are largely due to medical issues for either the mother or fetus.

Hagedorn has been particularly vocal about securing protections for babies who have survived abortions, which abortion advocates and medical experts say is already covered by existing laws.

"The thing on abortion right now is, it's really the left that's extreme," Hagedorn said.

He pointed out almost all House Democrats voted against a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks. On abortion and other hot-button issues, Hagedorn believes Democrats need to work more with Republicans instead of obstructing bills the Trump administration supports.

Issues at home

Perhaps the most visible issue Hagedorn faces in southern Minnesota is the ongoing tariff disputes the Trump administration has put in place against other countries. While Hagedorn said he is no fan of tariffs, he supports Trump's efforts to use tariffs as a negotiating tactic to secure more favorable trade agreements for the U.S.

"I'm totally sympathetic to the plight of our farmers," Hagedorn said. "It's been a tough five and six years. It's not just trade, it was Obamacare and regulations that have hit their bottom line."

Many farmers who supported Trump's goal to negotiate new agreements are now divided on whether to continue ongoing tariffs against China, the European Union, Asian allies, Canada and Mexico.

Some, such as soybean farmers, are adamantly opposed to the tariffs as the U.S. is losing potential sales to Brazil. Others, while hurting, say the U.S. needs to secure the upcoming United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) designed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"It's so important to get USMCA done, that's that first step," Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap said.

Paap lauded Hagedorn, Minnesota's most outspoken USMCA advocate, for his work in the House agriculture committee.

"He gets it," Paap said of Hagedorn. "He understands that we need to get those markets back open."

Other residents aren't so sure. Hagedorn's critics and more liberal constituents say they're concerned Hagedorn hasn't hosted many town halls to explain his positions or his votes on major issues.

Hagedorn began holding town halls this month, starting with a Martin County town hall on June 1 and a criticized tele-town hall in Nicollet County on June 13.

He plans to host another town hall in Olmsted County on June 28 and follow through on a public promise to host at least one town hall in all 21 counties within his district.

Hagedorn said he has held more than 500 small meetings since he first took office, as well as participated in various community events.

He also points out his predecessor, Walz, didn't hold many town halls when he was in Congress.

That doesn't satisfy some of his constituents who are concerned with his anti-immigrant stances and votes against equality issues, among other things.

"Congressman Hagedorn does not even seem to pretend to care about representing the entirety of his district," said Yurie Hong, one of the organizers behind the liberal-leaning group Indivisible of St. Peter/Greater Mankato. "He is constantly using divisive language that sends a message that show he does not care about constituents who maybe didn't vote for him. That is not the job of a representative."

Hagedorn said residents have the right to criticize him, but he plans to continue meeting with people and following through on his conservative philosophy.

He pointed to several local issues he's helped solve as proof he's serving the district's needs, from connecting Mankato airport officials to FFA officials for potential future renovations to testifying in Congress with Sen. Amy Klobuchar on protecting Le Sueur-based Cambria and other small businesses from low-quality imported quartz.

"I'm doing my best to follow through on the promises I've made on the campaign, to serve the people of southern Minnesota," he said.

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